The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was passed in the year 1989. Since then, there has been a steep rise in the registered number of crimes against people from Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), a report on the implementation of the Act has found. The study also found various hurdles for SC and ST communities in accessing justice, from delays in police officers filing chargesheets to SC/ST (PoA) Act monitoring committees remaining inactive.
In the thirty-year period between 1991 and 2021, the number of crimes against SC communities went up by 177.6% (or nearly tripled), according to a report published by Dalit Human Rights Defenders Network (DHRDNet), a coalition of over 1,000 Dalit human rights defenders from different states of India.
In the same period, crimes against ST communities increased by 111.2% (or more than doubled), the study found. These include violent crimes, sexual harassment and targeting of SC/ST women and children, robbery and theft, and other offences under the SC/ST (PoA) Act. The report states over the three decades, the number of crimes registered has grown faster than the population of SC and ST communities, as well as the general trends of rise in the number of other types of crimes registered in this period.
The study, titled ‘Implementation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and Rules 1995,’ examines various elements, from the types of crimes perpetuated against SC and ST communities to the hurdles faced in accessing justice at police stations and courts. The study analyses data gathered under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from 15 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. Over 100 ‘atrocity prone’ districts for crimes against SC and ST communities as identified by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs were chosen for the study.
Types of crimes against SC and ST communities
According to the report, crimes against SC and ST communities have continued to rise considerably in recent years. Between 2017 and 21, instances of criminal intimidation against SC/ST communities reported went up by 59.52%, while cases of murder and attempt to murder increased by 38.17%. Incidents of rape and attempt to rape of women from SC/ST communities went up by 37.02% in the same four-year period.
In the five-year period from 2016 to 2021, among the 15 states considered in the study, the highest proportion of crimes against SCs was reported in Uttar Pradesh (26.15%), followed by Bihar (14.98%) Rajasthan (12.46%), Madhya Pradesh (12.45%) and Andhra Pradesh (4.56%). Meanwhile, the highest proportion of crimes against STs in the same time period was recorded in Madhya Pradesh (28.2%), followed by Rajasthan (20.22%), Odisha (8.50%), Maharashtra (7.23%) and Telangana (6.34%).
Across the 100 atrocity prone districts that were studied, simple hurt (causing bodily pain, disease or infirmity) was the most commonly reported crime (nearly 30%). Other common crimes recorded against SC and ST communities include rape (8%) and attempt to rape (8%). The study also revealed that in more than half of the sexual assault and rape cases, the crime was allegedly perpetrated against minor girls. “In most cases, sexual violence was perpetrated by men from land-owning dominant caste families against Dalit women and girls who work as agricultural labourers in their farms and are dependent on the perpetrators for their livelihood,” the report noted.
Apart from the rise in the number of crimes registered, the report also noted a rise in the number of atrocity prone districts that are more prone to caste crimes. As of July last year, a total of 152 districts in 14 states and one union territory (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) have been identified as atrocity prone according to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Tamil Nadu had the highest number of such districts, with 345 villages in 37 of the state’s 38 districts identified as atrocity prone. Bihar (34), Odisha (19), Gujarat (11), and Madhya Pradesh (11) followed Tamil Nadu with the highest number of atrocity prone districts. Many states and union territories, however, have not declared atrocity prone areas, including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, and Himachal Pradesh.
Hurdles in accessing justice
The DHRDNet report also looks at the time taken by the police to file chargesheets. In cases registered under the SC/ST (PoA) Act, the investigation must be completed and a chargesheet filed within 60 days of the first information report (FIR) being registered. However, the report found that this does not happen often.
“DHRDNet’s analysis shows that chargesheets are filed after 60 days in nearly 46.8% of atrocities cases registered between 2016 to 2020. Telangana has the worst record among the states, with 80% of its cases being charge-sheeted after 60 days,” the report said, based on a report compiled by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The average time taken to file a chargesheet was 100 days or 3.5 months.
The study further noted that the structures put in place to oversee the implementation of the Act were not very strong. As per the Act, state governments must have a high power vigilance and monitoring committee headed by the Chief Minister, which meets at least twice a year to review the implementation of the provisions of the Act, relief and rehabilitation facilities provided to the victims and other matters. Apart from Gujarat, none of the states’ committees had met even once between 2016 and 2020, the study found. A similar pattern of inactivity was observed among the district level vigilance and monitoring committees as well. The report also mentioned that 19 states have not even formed these district level committees.
To address atrocities against SCs and STs, the report makes a few recommendations, such as sensitivity training for police officers on caste, gender, and provisions of the SC/ST (PoA) Act, investigation and correction of reasons for delays in filing chargesheets, and follow up on compensation and rehabilitation measures for survivors or victims and their dependents till the final verdict is pronounced.