Author- Harshit Raj, Lovely Professional University, Punjab
Introduction
The Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act is an example of legislation in India that has incredible relevance throughout the country regarding rights of opressed people. It was passed originally in 1989 and was specifically enacted to prevent atrocities against scheduled caste and scheduled tribe populations in India and to punish those who are involved in such activities.
Background and Development
Part 3 of the Indian Constitution talks about fundamental rights, multiple articles such as Article 15, Article 17 and Article 21, talks about the fact that each individual in the country has the right to live a dignified life, without any discrimination. But the reality is that over the past few centuries, a significant population of the country that has been oppressed and exploited deserved special attention and special safeguard from the government.
SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (Amendment) Act, 2015
In 2015, the amendment said that more instances of atrocities as crimes have been registered. The word used here in the act “atrocities”, means to exploit, or to oppress someone. There has to be a clear distinction between what will be an ordinary crime or any atrocities. The difference between the two is that atrocities in crime also present a lot of loopholes for many people who are not punished. Parliament has been trying to expand the scope of the word atrocities and define what exactly would be included so that there is no scope for misinterpretation. The 2015 amendment also provides for the establishment of exclusive special codes and special public prosecutors, so that the cases under this Act can be heard at a faster pace and they can be given special attention for which, Public Prosecutors are assigned. Public Prosecutors are lawyer that are appointed by the government to find the case on behalf of the state. The term ‘willful negligence’ means- if a public official or a public servant willfully or knowingly discriminates against people just because a specific person comes from a scheduled caste and scheduled tribe, then that would also be considered as a crime. It clearly defines what a willful negligence will be at different levels starting from the registration of complaints. This might not be a big issue but, if we look at the past incidences it was a common practice where if a person belonging to scheduled caste or scheduled tribe went to a police station to file a complaint, it is extremely hard for them to even get their complaints registered and the discrimination starts at that very ground level. But, if any police personnel or any public servant is not willing to file a complaint it will be considered an atrocity.
Salient features of the 2018 Amendment
Another amendment was introduced in theyear 2018, specifically to override a lot of provisions of what the Supreme Court had said in the judgment of the same year. The 2018 Supreme Court judgment also called as the Kashinath Mahajan judgment is one of the most important judgement under this law. In this case, the court said that if someone has committed atrocities against a person belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, then they would not be given anticipatory bail. To make the law strict and strong, the original law said that if a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe comes to the police and files a complaint about harassment because of his/her identity, then the police can arrest the other person without having any investigation started. But, the court in the year 2018 said that before registering the FIRs we should at least have the preliminary inquiry done.
The Supreme Court had also said that anticipatory bail will be allowed first and investigation should be held only if FIR is registered, in this condition arrest cannot be done by a very low-level official. Amendment in the year 2018 introduced a new section called Section 18A that defines the word “atrocities” and these are now listed as cognizable offence.
Some other feature of the 2018 amendment act says that the state government should convert some existing session courts into special courts and also appoint a public prosecutor for conducting the session. It creates a provision that the state should declare areas with high levels of violence as atrocity-prone areas, so that special attention could be given to those areas and the government and the authorities can be well prepared to handle the challenges there. It also provides punishment for ‘willful negligence’ of duties by public servants which can be implemented by the state governments and UT administrators. The central government will give them as much assistance as possible.
Conclusion
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, commonly known as the SC-ST Act, holds paramount importance in safeguarding the rights and dignity of marginalized communities in India by providing legal provisions and mechanisms to address and prevent discrimination, violence, and atrocities against SCs and STs. This Act aims to create a more just and equitable society. While its implementation and effectiveness have been subjects of debate, there is no denying the significance of the Act in striving towards a more inclusive and equal India. However, continued efforts to raise awareness, improved enforcement, and ensuring justice are crucial for the Act to fulfil its intended purpose.