Article 17 of the Constitution of India abolished ‘untouchability’, forbade its practice in any form and made enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability as an offence punishable in accordance with the law. An Act of Parliament namely the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) {PoA} Act, 1989, which falls within the provisions of Article 17 of the Constitution was enacted for preventing atrocities against members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, to provide for Special Courts for the trial of such offences as well as relief and rehabilitation of the victims of atrocities. The PoA Act extends to the whole of India except Jammu & Kashmir, and responsibility for its implementation rests with State Governments.
Despite the deterrent provisions made in the PoA Act, continuing atrocities against the members of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) had been a cause of concern. High incidence of occurrences of offences against members of SCs and STs also indicated that the deterrent effect of the PoA Act was not adequately felt by the accused. It was, therefore, considered appropriate to strengthen the Act and make the relevant provisions of the Act more effective.
Based on the consultation process with all the stakeholders, amendments in the PoA Act were proposed to broadly cover five areas namely (i) Amendments to Chapter II (Offences of Atrocities) to include new definitions, new offences, to re-phrase existing sections and expand the scope of presumptions, (ii) Institutional Strengthening, (iii) Appeals (a new section), (iv) Establishing Rights of Victims and Witnesses (a new chapter) and (v) strengthening preventive measures. The objective of these amendments in the PoA Act is to deliver members of SCs and STs, a greater justice as well as be an enhanced deterrent to the offenders. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2015 to effect amendments in the PoA Act as passed by the lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and assented by the President last year, has been notified as the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 (No.1 of 2016), in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, the date appointed by the Central Government and notified in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary.
A committee under the chairpersonship of Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment with members from Ministries of Home Affairs, Tribal Affairs, law and Justice, Department of Justice, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and three non-official members (two amongst SCs and one amongst SC), which was set up in the year 2006 on a recommendation of the Parliament Committee, to devise ways and means to curb offences of atrocities and ensure effective administration Acts of Parliament namely the Protection of Civil Rights {PCR} Act, 1955 and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities ){PoA} Act, 1989, held a meeting recently at Vigyan Bhawan, to review implementation status of PCR and PoA Acts in States and Union Territories. The meeting will be chaired by Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment and concerned Ministers in the States and Union Territories along with senior officers have been requested to make it convenient to attend the meeting. The members of the Committee as per the present composition (at Annexure), have also been addressed to attend the meeting.
The aforesaid meeting has a special significance in view of amendments made in the PoA Act as mentioned above. The amended Act has cast a greater responsibility on the concerned State Governments and Union Territory Administrations to augment the infrastructure and human resource for its implementation.
As such the Committee is likely to deliberate on steps to be taken by the concerned States and Union Territories to effectively implement provisions in the amendment Act. The Committee would also discuss issues related implementation of the PCR and PoA Acts, as detailed in the Agenda.