MINISTER OF STATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RAMDAS ATHAWALE)
(a): The said survey conducted by Social Attitude Research India (SARI) was neither commissioned by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment nor its report has been received by the Ministry. State Governments of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have also apprised that the report and data of the said survey has not been received by them. As such its findings cannot be commented upon or substantiated.
(b) to (e): Article 17 of the Constitution of India abolished ‘untouchability’, forbade its practice and made enforcement of any disability arising out of ‘untouchability’, a punishable offence in accordance with law. An Act of Parliament namely the ‘Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, 1955 prescribes punishment for enforcement of any disability arising from the practice of ‘untouchability. Another Act of Parliament namely theScheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities){PoA} Act, 1989, was enacted to prevent atrocities against members of Scheduled Castes(SCs) and Scheduled Tribes(STs).
With an objective to deliver members of SCs and STs a greater justice, the PoA Act has been amended by the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 and enforced with effect from 26.01.2016. The amendments broadly relate to addition of several new offences besides rephrasing and expansion of some of earlier offences, establishment of Exclusive Special Courts and specification of Exclusive Special Public Prosecutors to exclusively try the offences under the PoA Act to enable expeditious disposal of cases, power of Special Courts and Exclusive Special Courts to take direct cognizance of offence, and addition of chapter on the ‘Rights of Victims and Witnesses’. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995 made by the Central Government in exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 23 of the PoA Act have also been amended by the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Rules, 2016 and enforced with effect from 14.04.2016. The amendments broadly relate to provisions of relief amount for 47 offences( as against 22 prior to amendment) of atrocities, rationalization of the phasing of payment of relief amount, enhancement of relief amount between Rs. 85,000/- - Rs. 8,25,000/-(as against Rs. 75,000/- to Rs.7,50,000/- prior to amendment), depending upon the nature of the offence, payment of admissible relief within seven days, completion of investigation and filing of charge sheet within sixty days to enable timely commencement of prosecution.
The variation in incidence of offences registered under the PCR Act and the PoA Act is reflected in the annual statistics on the two Acts, provided by the National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs. The table as under mentions number of cases registered under the two Acts during 2014,2015 and 2016:-
Year Number of cases registered under the :
PCR Act PoA Act
2014 102 47,124
2015 107 44,839
2016 31 47,338
Provisions of the PCR Act and the PoA Act and the Rules there under are implemented by the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations and they are provided Central assistance towards effective implementation of the two Acts, besides being addressed to do so with emphasis on training and sensitization of police officers, other concerned officers and awareness generation.
Implementation aspect of the PCR Act and the PoA Act is periodically reviewed in the meetings of the State and District level Vigilance and Monitoring Committees set up as per Rule 16 and Rule 17 of the PoA Rules. A Committee under the Chairpersonship of Union Minster for Social Justice and Empowerment from time to time also reviews implementation status of the two Acts in States and Union Territories and its last meeting was held on 30.01.2018.
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