Report of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, for the year 2021

FOCUS

This report was released by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India in 2022. The 1990 edition of the Report of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 was the first in the series. The present is the 28th instalment.

It uses data provided by the National Crime Records Bureau to publish state-wise numbers of cases registered under the Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act between 2019 and 2021. Furthermore, the report uses information submitted by each state and union territory to review the steps taken to minimise atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). In accordance with the provisions set out under Section 21(4) of the PoA Act, the annual report is presented to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 aims to prevent specific atrocities against marginalised communities in India. It makes various offences against these communities punishable and provides for relief and rehabilitation to the victims. The Act was amended in 2015 and 2018. The report notes that the responsibility of implementing the PoA act is vested with the governments of the states and union territories, who may constitute special committees and SC/ST protection cells.

The 140-page report contains five chapters and four annexures: Introduction (Chapter 1); Structures and mechanisms established for implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (Chapter 2); Action by the police and the courts in cases registered under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 during 2021 (Chapter 3); Measures taken by the Government of India (Chapter 4); and Measures taken by the state governments and union territory administrations (Chapter 5).

The annexures include Extract of Section 3 of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (Annexure I); State-wise number of cases registered with police and their disposal during the year, 2021 (Annexure II); State-wise number of cases with courts and their disposal during the year, 2021 (Annexure III); and Details of central assistance released to states/union territory administrations during 2021-22 (Annexure IV).

    FACTOIDS

  1. The report underlines the duties and responsibilities of the central and state governments to ensure the implementation of the act. Such measures include provisions for legal aid to the victims of atrocities, provisions for travel and stays of witnesses, social and economic rehabilitation of victims of atrocities, periodic surveys to determine the efficacy of the act, and the identification of areas where members of SC and ST communities are particularly vulnerable to atrocities.

  2. Section 14 of the PoA Act provides for Special Courts for the speedy trial of cases of atrocities against SCs and STs. Twenty-five states and five union territories have designated specific district session courts as Special Courts for this purpose. As many as 176 districts (down from 193 in 2020) in 11 states (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat among others) have established Exclusive Special Courts to try cases under this Act.

  3. Special police stations for the registrations of complaints and investigation into atrocities against SCs and STs have been established in the states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh. Their total number rose from 144 in 2020 to 145 in 2021, with one additional station added in Chhattisgarh.

  4. According to the report, 54,085 cases were registered under the PoA Act in 2021. In the same year, 95.9 per cent of such cases were pending before the court and 32.7 per cent had ended in conviction.

  5. In 2021, the most cases of atrocities against SCs and STs were registered (under the PoA Act in conjunction with the Indian Penal Code) in the state of Madhya Pradesh (9,838) with 7,211 cases of atrocities against SCs and 2,627 cases of atrocities against STs. Rajasthan (9,536) had the second highest figures with 7,435 and 2,101 cases concerning SCs and STs respectively. Uttar Pradesh (9,496) was a close third with 9,492 and four cases.

  6. As per the report, 12 states cumulatively account for 95.7 per cent of all the cases of atrocities against members of Scheduled Castes registered in India in 2021. These states are Uttar Pradesh (9,492), Rajasthan (7,435), Madhya Pradesh (7,211), Bihar (5,842), Odisha (2,327), Maharashtra (2,253), Andhra Pradesh (1,870), Telangana (1,697), Karnataka (1,642), Haryana (1,496), Tamil Nadu (1,231) and Gujarat (1,145).

  7. Additionally, 12 states cumulatively account for 98.3 per cent of all the cases of atrocities against members of Scheduled Tribes registered in India in 2021. These are Madhya Pradesh (2,627), Rajasthan (2,101), Odisha (676), Maharashtra (573), Chhattisgarh (503), Telangana (498), Karnataka (355), Andhra Pradesh (349), Gujarat (325), Kerala (128), Bihar (103) and Jharkhand (92).

  8. In 2021, 62,807 and 11,190 cases of atrocities against SCs and STs were ‘brought forward’. Of these, 37,170 and 6,989 had charge-sheets filed in courts. As many as 9,141 and 1,506 had ‘final reports’ submitted indicating false cases, mistakes or insufficient evidence. The report notes that 16,394 and 2,680 cases of atrocities against SCs and STs respectively were pending with the police at the end of the year.

  9. As per the report 8,476 of the 214,544 cases of atrocities against people from Scheduled Castes and 1,853 of the 37,618 cases of atrocities against people from Scheduled Tribes were disposed of by the courts in 2021. The number of acquittals (5,628 and 1,324) were higher than the number of convictions (2,848 and 529) in both instances.

  10. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for implementation of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the central government provided financial assistance of Rs. 610.1 crores to 23 states and five union territories during 2021-2022.


    Focus and Factoids by Prachyadeep Dasgupta.

AUTHOR

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India

COPYRIGHT

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India

PUBLICATION DATE

2022

TAGS

#marginalised-communities #scheduled-tribes #act #prevention-of-atrocities #scheduled-castes

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