Socio-Economic Offences

On

Central Analysis of the Atrocities Act with leading

Supreme Court Rulings

Submitted to:

Mrs. Priyanka Dhar

Faculty, Socio-Economic Offences

By:

Saurabh Das Manikpuri

Roll no. 143, Section A, Semester- VIII

B.A. LLB(Hons.)
Submitted on:

April 06, 2018

Hidayatullah National Law University

Uparwara Post, Abhanpur, New Raipur – 493661 (C.G.)

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 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project work entitled “Central Analysis of the Atrocities Act with
leading Supreme Court Rulings” submitted to HNLU, Raipur, is an original work, which
has been done by me under the able guidance of Mrs. Priyanka Dhar, Faculty Socio-
Economic Offences, HNLU, Raipur.

SAURABH DAS
MANIKPURI

ROLL NO. - 143

SEM – 8, Section- A

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 Acknowledgements

I feel elated to work on the project “Central Analysis of the Atrocities Act with leading
Supreme Court Rulings”. The practical realisation of the project has obligated the assistance
of many persons. Firstly I express my deepest gratitude towards Mrs. Priyanka Dhar, Faculty
of Socio-Economic Offences, to provide me with the opportunity to work on this project. Her
able guidance and supervision were of extreme help in understanding and carrying out the
nuances of this project.

I would also like to thank The University and the Vice Chancellor for providing extensive
database resources in the library and for the internet facilities provided by the University.

Some printing errors might have crept in which are deeply regretted. I would be grateful to
receive comments and suggestions to further improve this project.

Saurabh Das Manikpuri

Roll No. 143

Section A, Semester VII

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 CONTENTS

Contents
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................................5
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES.........................................................................................................................................6
METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................................................................6
QUESTIONS...........................................................................................................................................................6
HYPOTHESIS..........................................................................................................................................................7
MODE OF CITATION..............................................................................................................................................7
SCOPE OF STUDY..................................................................................................................................................7
The Atrocities Act.................................................................................................................................................8
Atrocities rooted in caste system...................................................................................................................8
Continuing widespread prevalence..................................................................................................................9
Interpretation of the Supreme Court.................................................................................................................10
Latest Amendment.............................................................................................................................................14
CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................................16
BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................................................17

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INTRODUCTION

The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is an Act of
the Parliament of India enacted to prevent atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes. The Act is popularly known as POA, the SC/ST Act, the Prevention of Atrocities Act,
or simply the Atrocities Act.

Article 17 of Indian Constitution seeks to abolish 'untouchability' and to forbid all such
practices. It is basically a "statement of principle" that needs to be made operational with the
ostensible objective to remove humiliation and multifaceted harassments meted to the Dalits
and to ensure their fundamental and socio-economic, political, and cultural rights. This is to
free Indian society from blind and irrational adherence to traditional beliefs and to establish a
bias free society. For that, Untouchability (Offences) Act 1955 was enacted. However,
lacunae and loopholes impelled the government to project a major overhaul of this legal
instrument. From 1976 onwards the Act was revamped as the Protection of Civil Rights Act.
Despite various measures adopted to improve the socio-economic conditions of the SCs and
STs they remain vulnerable and are subject to various offences, indignities and humiliations
and harassment. When they assert their rights and against the practice of Untouchability
against them the vested interest try to cow them down and terrorize them. Atrocities against
the SCs and STs, still continued.

Thus objectives of the Act clearly emphasize the intention of the Government to deliver
justice to these communities through proactive efforts to enable them to live in society with
dignity and self-esteem and without fear or violence or suppression from the dominant castes.
The practice of untouchability, in its overt and covert form was made a cognizable and non
compoundable offence, and strict punishment is provided for any such offence.

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RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The objective of this project is:

1. To study briefly about the atrocities act.
2. To study the atrocities act according to the Supreme Court rulings.

METHODOLOGY

This Research Project is doctrinal in nature. Accumulation of the information on the topic includes
wide use of primary sources such as cases as well as secondary sources like books, e-articles etc. The
matter from these sources have been compiled and analysed to understand the concept and
reproduced it afresh in this project.

Websites, dictionary and articles have also been referred.

QUESTIONS
This project aims to answer questions such as

 What is the aim and objective of the atrocities act?

 How the supreme court have interpreted the atrocities act?

HYPOTHESIS
This Project attempts to study about the atrocities act according to the act and there is
interpretation of the court in certain cases.

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MODE OF CITATION

This project follows a uniform Bluebook 19th Ed. Citation format for footnotes and
bibliography.

SCOPE OF STUDY

This is aimed at the brief study of the atrocities act and this project deals with some Supreme
Court judgement in which the Court has interpreted the atrocities act further it will not
include what are the authorities under the act and it does not deals with the historical
background of the act.

The Atrocities Act

The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is an Act of
the Parliament of India enacted to prevent atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled
tribes. The Act is popularly known as POA, the SC/ST Act, the Prevention of Atrocities Act,

or simply the Atrocities Act.

Functioning

What does this law do?

This law does three things:

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  It punishes crimes against people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
 It gives special protections and rights to victims.
 It sets up courts for fast completion of cases.

What sorts of crimes are punished?

 Some crimes under the IPC are given increased punishments under this law.
 Cruel and degrading crimes that occur very often against SC/ST communities, such as
forcing them to eat cowdung, boycotting them socially etc. More than 20 such acts are
punished under this law.

Necessity

Atrocities rooted in caste system

A study conducted by the National Commission for SCs and STs in 1990 on Atrocities on
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: Causes and Remedies pointed out various causal
factors for atrocities: land disputes; land alienation; bonded labour; indebtedness; non-
payment of minimum wages; caste prejudice and practice of untouchability; political factions
on caste lines; refusal to perform traditional works such as digging burial pits, arranging
cremations, removing carcasses of dead animals and beating drums; etc. The deep root for
such atrocities is traceable to the caste system, which “encompasses a complete ordering of
social groups on the basis of the so-called ritual purity. A person is considered a member of
the caste into which s/he is born and remains within that caste until death….”1
Considered ritually impure, SCs have been physically and socially excluded from mainstream
society, denied basic resources and services, and discriminated against in all areas of life.
Accordingly, they face various forms of exploitation, insults and violence, as well as
degrading practices of untouchability. The Scheduled Tribes were equally exploited on
grounds of not falling within the caste system but having a distinct culture and worldview of
their own. “Women belonging to these castes and tribes bore double burden. They were
exploited by caste and gender, and were vulnerable to and powerless against sexual
exploitation.”2

1 Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of SCs & STs, 4th Report 2004-05, New Delhi, 2005, para 1.2
2 Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of SCs and STs, 4th Report 2004-05, New Delhi, 2005, para 1.4

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Continuing widespread prevalence

Despite the right to non-discrimination on the basis of race or caste enshrined in Article 15 of
the Indian Constitution, discrimination against SCs and STs is pervasive. Though abolished
and forbidden by Article 17, the practice of ‘untouchability’ persists due to its systemic
character. Hence, the Indian Parliament enacted the Untouchability Offences Act 1955, which
underwent amendment and renaming in 1976 to become the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR)
Act. Under this Act, ‘untouchability’ as a result of religious and social disabilities was made
punishable. However, due to legal loopholes, the levels of punishments being less punitive as
compared to those of the IPC, and the law and order machinery being neither professionally
trained nor socially inclined to implement such social legislation, a more comprehensive and
more punitive Act was required to protect SCs and STs from violence committed by other
communities. This gave rise to the SC/ST (PoA) Act 1989.

Interpretation of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court judgement had come on a petition filed by an NGO called National
Campaign on Dalit Human Rights. The petition was that government had aggrieved the SCs
and STs by non-implementation of the provisions of the act and sought directions from court
to government {note that the writ here is of mandamus nature} for setting up special officers,
nodal officers and protection cell as required under the Act. Key points from the court’s
observations and judgements are as follows:

 The indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned with the implementation of the
act has prevented from achieving he laudable object of the law.

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  Court directed the central and state governments to strictly enforce the provisions of
the act.
 The court also directed the national commissions (of SCs and STs) to discharge their
duties to protect the SCs and STs.
 The court requested the National Legal Services Authorityto formulate appropriate
schemes to spread awareness and provide free legal aid to members of SCs and STs.

Who are SCs and STs?

SCs and STs have NOT been defined in the Indian Constitution. The power to list of these
castes and tribes is vested in the President under article 341 and 342 of the constitution. Thus,
those castes and tribes are scheduled, which are so notified by the president. If the list is
related to a state, then also, the power is with president but listing can be done after
consultation with the governor of the state. Once a presidential notification is out, any
inclusion or exclusion in that list is done only by making a law in the parliament.

Why are the tribals in India referred to as ‘the Scheduled Tribes’?

Using the powers vested by Article 342 of the constitution, the President of India made an
Order in 1950 which is called “Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950”. There are total
22 schedules appended to this order with list of the names of the tribes of the states. These
tribes, whose names are included in the schedule of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes)
Order, 1950 are called Scheduled Tribes. Since most of the tribal groups of India were
included in this list, they are called Scheduled Tribes.

What are the constitutional provisions for their protection?

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The constitutional provisions can be summarized as follows:
 Reservation of seats in Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, Gram Panchayats,
Municipalities and other local bodies such as Bodoland Territorial Council (Only ST).
{Note that there is no reservation in Rajya Sabha and MLCs for SCs and STs}
 Reservation in Government Jobs and Promotions as per Article 15(4) and 15(5) under
the doctrine of reasonable classification and “positive discrimination”.
 Abolition of untouchability under article 17
 Direction to the state under DPSP article 46 for protection and promotion of their
educational and economic interests.
 Provision of a Minister of Tribal Welfare {who is also in-charge of welfare of SCs and
BCs} in Bihar, MP and Odisha under Article 164.
 Grants-in-aid to the states under article 275 for promotion and welfare of STs.
 Relaxation in qualifying marks in various examinations.
 Provisions of National Commission for SCs (Article 338) and National Commission
of STs (Article 338-A).

Offender and Victim

Under this law, offender is a person who does not belong to SCs and STs, and commits
crimes against the members of SC and STs. A victim is a member of these communities.
Offenders, Victims And Offences Under The Act
Any person who is not a member of a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe and commits an
offence listed in the Act against a member of a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe is an
offender.

The victim is a member of a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe against whom any of the
following offences is committed by the offender:
1. Forced to eat or drink an offensive or uneatable substance;
2. Caused annoyance, injury or insult by any excreta or waste matter being dumped in his
premises or neighborhood;
3. Paraded naked or with painted face or body;
4. Wrongfully deprived of cultivation of his land;
5. Wrongfully deprived of his rights over any land, premises or water;

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6. Forced to do beggary or work as a bonded labourer;
7. Prevented from exercising his right to vote or according to his wishes;
8. Subjected to false legal proceedings;
9. Caused injury or annoyance by a public servant on the basis of false information given to
him;
10. Deliberately insulted and humiliated in public view;
11. A woman who is sexually assaulted;
12. Deprived of his right to clean drinking water;
13. Deprived of his right of passage to a public place;
14. Forced to leave his house or village;
15. Falsely implicated in a criminal case which might result in his imprisonment or
execution;
16. Intended harm or injury by burning a place of his dwelling or worship;
17. Wrongfully caused injury or subjected to any other offence by a public servant

Offenses
The law has defined a list of various offenses against the SCs and STs including – forcing to
eat or drink an offensive / inedible substance; causing annoyance / injury by excreta or waste
matter dumping in his premises or neighbourhood; parading naked or face / body painted;
wrongfully depriving of cultivation of his / her land; forcing to do beggary or work as bonded
labour; subjecting to false legal proceedings; deliberating insulting in public view; sexually
assaulting a woman; depriving of right to clean drinking water; forcing to leave house or
village; falsely implicating in criminal case; gives false evidence against; etc.

Cognizable Offense
The offences against the SCs and STs are cognizable. This implies that the police can arrest
the offender without any warrant and start investigation without taking any court orders.

Punishments
The law has prescribed minimum punishment of 6 months and maximum punishment of five
years with fine. The minimum and maximum punishment can go up also depending on type
of offense and subsequent conviction.

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Duty of Public Officials
Act has provision mentioning that public servant (non SC/ST) neglecting his duties related to
SCs/STs will be punished with imprisonment for a term of 6 months to 1 year.

Special Courts
The act directs the states to constitute special courts for hearing cases on atrocities against
scheduled caste and scheduled tribes. Each state government is required to, with the
concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court, by notification in the official gazette,
establish in each district a Court of Session to be a Special Court exclusively to try the
offences under this Act.

Onus on Central Government to frame rules

The act authorizes the Central Government to frame rules for carrying out the purpose of the
Act.

Rehabilitation
The acts speaks of various rehabilitation measures for the victims.

What are the changes in this law made by recent amendment.

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015
has made some changes into the parent law. These are as follows:
 It has added new offenses against the SCs and STs, including Garlanding SCs and STs
with footwear (ii) Compelling to do manual scavenging or dispose carry animal or
human carcasses. (iii) Abusing SCs/STs in public by caste name (iv) Disrespecting
any deceased SCs/STs person held in high esteem or attempting to promote feelings
of ill-will against SCs/STs (iv) Threatening or imposing economic and social boycott.
(v) impending in voting activity.
 It has also added few other activities under the sexual exploitation of SC/ST women
including – use of sexually loaded words and gestures, touching intentionally,
dedicating an SC/ST women as a devadasi
 Preventing them of using common / public properties, temples etc.
 The amendment act has added duties of the public servants which include (1) to
register FIR (2) read out the complaint of the victim before giving him a copy.

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  The amendment has added a new chapter dealing with the rights of victims and
witnesses. It mentions that it shall be the duty of the state to make arrangements for
the protection of victims and their dependents and the witnesses. It also mentions that
state should specify a scheme to ensure the implementation of rights of victims and
witnesses.

Latest Amendment

No automatic arrest in cases under SC/ST Act

The Supreme Court on April 2018 banned automatic arrests and registration of criminal cases
under the Scheduled Castes (SC) and the Scheduled Tribes (ST) Prevention of Atrocities Act,
1989, a legislation meant to protect the marginalised communities from abuse and
discrimination.
A bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit ruled that no arrests can be made under the act
without prior permission. It also held that a court can grant a pre-bail arrest (anticipatory bail)
if it, prima facie, finds the complaint is an abuse of the law, false, motivated and intended to
blackmail or harass a person.

A law should not result in caste hatred,” the bench said.

Presently, the SC/ST Act bars a court from granting anticipatory bail to a person accused of
the offence. On receiving a complaint, the police are bound to immediately register a First
Information Report (FIR) and arrest the accused. A convicted person under the Act faces
between six months in prison to capital punishment. The law was first enacted in 1989 and
strengthened in 2015, when caste slurs was also brought under its ambit. But conviction rates
remain low and many activists complain that local police and law administration often dilute
provisions and conduct shoddy investigation, resulting in high rates of acquittal.

In 2016, for example, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded that the national
rate of conviction for cases filed under the SC/ST Act stood at 15.4%. In contrast, conviction
rate under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act stood at 33.3% and the Electricity Act
was 89.8%. In the same year, around 1,300 people were convicted under the act and more
than 7,000 people were acquitted, recorded the NCRB. the court noted that the NCRB had

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recorded that in 2016 among the cases filed for crimes against scheduled caste persons, 5,347
cases were found to be false and 912 of the ST cases were found to be false. The bench
underlined the need to provide safeguards in view of the misuse observed in the last three
decades.

To protect the liberty of individuals, the bench said a public servant can only be arrested after
the approval of the appointing authority. In case of a non-public servant, the approval of the
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) is necessary. A permission to arrest may be granted in
appropriate cases but with recorded reasons, which must be served upon the accused and also
to the court. Such reasons must be scrutinised by the magistrate for permitting further
detention. The apex court also made it mandatory for the police to hold a preliminary enquiry,
not exceeding a week.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Subhash Kashinath Mahajan, who challenged a
Bombay high court order that refused to quash an FIR against him under the Act. The
complainant in that case was a member of the SC community and had lodged the case after
Mahajan refused to grant sanction to prosecute two other employees who had made adverse
comments against the complainant. The SC allowed his appeal and quashed his case, terming
it an “abuse of process of law.”

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CONCLUSION

In 1989, the Government of India enacted the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act in order to prevent atrocities against SC/STs. The purpose of the Act was to
prevent attrocities and help in social inclusion of Dalits into the society, but the Act has failed
to live up to its expectations. Despite various measures adopted to improve the socio-
economic conditions of the SCs and STs they remain vulnerable and are subject to various
offences, indignities and humiliations and harassment. When they assert their rights and
against the practice of Untouchability against them the vested interest try to cow them down
and terrorize them. Atrocities against the SCs and STs, still continued.

There are still some drawbacks of the act as some of the SC/ST people misuses the provision
as many of the people does it for the compensation. Many innocent people also held liable so
it destroy their life .

So proper implementation of the act is needed, in my opinion the new amendment by the
Supreme Court is good but it should be implemented in proper and right way.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

 https://www.gktoday.in/academy/article/scst-prevention-of-atrocities-act-recent-
sc-ruling-and-implementation-issues-2/
 http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l440-Scheduled-Castes-and-Tribes-
Act-.html


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