In SC-ST Act, the case is easy, the consequences are difficult, punishment is achieved only in one third of the cases.

There is a separate law in India to prevent discrimination against people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This law named Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act (Prevention of Atrocities) 1989 remains in the news because of its non-bailable provisions. Under this law made to prevent discrimination and violence against castes considered Dalit in the society, arrest can be made without preliminary investigation. Despite all this, statistics show that only one-third of the cases result in conviction. In the remaining cases, the accused go free for various reasons.

Despite strict laws and harsh punishment, the low number of convictions shows that many times these laws are either misused or it is not easy to prove guilt. Let us tell you that this law applies when any SC or ST person is insulted with caste related words, caste based discrimination is done, any inhuman act is done or any person is forcibly evicted from the land.

What do the figures say?

Regarding cases registered under SC-ST Act 1989Rajya Sabha MP Chandrakant Handore Had asked questions. He had asked about the number of cases registered under the SC-ST Act in the last 3 years. Besides, questions were also asked about pending cases, reason for delay and conviction rate. Chandrakant Handore had also asked how many victims were compensated under this law in all the states.

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The answer to this has been given by Ramdas Athawale, Minister of State, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. In his reply, he has given information citing the data of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) published every year. The figures given with this answer show that every year about 55 to 57 thousand cases are registered under crimes against Scheduled Caste (SC) people and about 10 to 12 thousand cases are registered under crimes against Scheduled Tribe people.

A total of 57,569 cases of crime were registered against SC in the year 2022, 5776 in 2023 and 55685 in 2024. Similarly, a total of 10064 cases of crime against ST were registered in 2022, 12959 cases in 2023 and 9961 cases in 2024. Maximum cases of crimes against SC were registered in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. At the same time, maximum cases of crimes against ST were reported from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. One reason for this is the sizeable population of Scheduled Tribes in these states.

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Cases cannot be finished quickly

The condition of the cases registered under the SC-ST Act is similar to the cases pending in all the courts of the country. 19057 cases of crimes against SC were pending in the year 2022, this number will increase to 16419 in 2023 and 17123 in 2024. Similarly, 3350 cases of crimes against ST were pending in 2022. In 2023, this number more than doubled to 6961 cases pending and in 2024 this number increased to 7219. If we compare the cases registered, only about one third of the cases remain pending.

How many people were punished?

If we look at the conviction figures, it is even more surprising. The conviction rate in cases of crimes against SC was 34.1 percent in 2022, 32.4 percent in 2023 and 33.9 percent in 2024. This shows that compared to the number of cases registered, only one third of the cases result in conviction. Let us tell you here that to calculate the conviction rate, the number of cases that have reached conclusion is divided by the number of cases that have completed the trial and then multiplied by 100.

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The conviction rate in cases of crimes against STs is even lower. In the year 2022, only 28.1 percent of the cases, 24.6 percent in the year 2023 and 33.2 percent in the year 2024 were found guilty.

How many victims of SC-ST case got compensation?

According to the rules, under the SC-ST Act, compensation is also given to the victims by the Central Government. A total of 88,172 victims were given compensation worth Rs 39.27 crore in the year 2023-23. Similarly, a total compensation of Rs 53.53 crore was given to 79667 victims in 2023-24 and a total compensation of Rs 49.52 crore was given to 99965 victims in 2024-25.