A Citizens’ Audit of the Report of the Government of India under section 21 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention and Atrocities) Act, 1989 (POA), with respect to the calendar year 2021, was recently released in October 2023. As Justice Madan Lokur apply states in the Foreword of the Report, “the Report highlights deficiencies in investigation and trial of offences not only in terms of procedures but also in terms of substantive relief that victims and witnesses are entitled to under the law” and that the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, in most cases, “lack voice or visibility”.
The POA was meant to treat the acts of discrimination and violence against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as not just offences, but atrocities. Amendments that have been carried out have named more acts as atrocities realizing that in many places, people have found ways of discrimination which are not as obvious as pejorative name calling, in order to circumvent the application of the law. This is particularly true in States like Goa, where atrocities against any marginalized section of society are covert and insidious.
Interestingly, the Report has drawn from Government records alone, and cannot therefore be faulted by the State for authenticity. There is a comprehensive process laid out for Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to prepare a report regarding the implementation of the law. While a Report is annually prepared by the Union Government, it is found to be a haphazard compilation, and does not even draw from the additional data available with the Government itself, such as data from National Crime Records Bureau.
As the Citizens’ Vigilance and Monitoring Committee points out, it has had to bring out a Citizens’ Audit for several reasons ranging from the omissions to the commissions, from the incomplete data to deliberate distortions in the analysis and finally the lack of official and political will to to ensure fair and proper implementation of the law.
It may be recalled that the Elyaperumal Committee reviewing the implementation of the Untouchability Offences Act, 1955, had noted that the Department does not make any use of the information collected through their proforma and further that there is no follow up by the Government of India, for collection of information from the State Governments/Union Territory Governments/Administrations, possibly resulting in failure by them to furnish the necessary statistics to the Committee.
With reference to Goa, the Report particularly notes that Goa is among the seven states where the disposal rate is 90% or less, for atrocities against Scheduled Tribes. The Report points out that these states are likely to fall behind in fulfilling their statutory requirement of completing investigations in 60 days, and their backlog of cases pending investigation and pendency rate will only increase. It is noted that Goa did not file a single charge sheet on time in 2020. The four charge sheets were filed after 60 days. In 2021, two of the nine charge sheets were filed after 60 days.
The Report has recommended that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment should track the reasons for delay in filing the charge sheets, and that the states should address the specific causes applicable to them. The Report also recommends that police protection should be provided to all the victims, witnesses and their families, if the investigation is not completed within 120 days of the FIR being registered. It also recommends that advocates of choice must be made available to the victims and witnesses right from the time of filing complaints.
Goa does not have an exclusive special court or an exclusive special public prosecutor, possible because of the scale of its population, though there are enough studies to show that when there are special redressal systems, more cases come on board, as victims see a possible light at the end of the tunnel with a special court, as against a regular Sessions Court holding additional charge, which is burdened with several other kinds of cases.
The All India conviction rats for cases where the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is invoked are just 36% for atrocities against the Scheduled Castes and 28% for atrocities against the Scheduled Tribes in 2021. Goa is among the three states and union territories in Club zero – those that have disposed off cases with zero convictions.
The Report further notes Goa as being among the surprising omissions, where investigations and trials have been recorded during 2021. The up side is that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant attains the second highest grade for chairing the state level high power vigilance and monitoring committee meetings (60%) in 2021, having conducted three of the five required meetings, after M K Stalin (100%). One cannot miss the fact though that two of the required meetings were not conducted. Also, when it comes to sub-divisional vigilance and monitoring committee meetings, Goa conducted only two out of the eight required district vigilance and monitoring Committee meetings, and at the sub-divisional level, it conducted zero meetings. Also, Goa is among the 18 states that do not report having contingency plans in their state annual reports for the calendar year 2021, although in February 2022 in Parliament it was disclosed that it has prepared the Contingency Plan.
Further, Goa has not appointed special officers as mandated by the law. Goa stoops to the level of every other state in not reporting financial support to NGOs in running awareness centres or conducting workshops, though they are statutorily required to do so. After all, awareness amongst the citizenry and especially amongst the marginalized sections – in this case, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, is key for ensuring implementation of any law.
The data, according to the Report, points to large-scale suppression, dilution, and trivialization. The Report notes that the classification of ‘identified (atrocity prone) areas’ is faulty and does not provide sufficient early warning. This resonates for Goa. This writer has over the years repeatedly come across cases where persons from Scheduled Caste communities are denied access, or where water has been poured in the hands of the persons from those communities, so that the persons will not touch the tumbler.
Similarly, with Scheduled Tribes, both the State itself and real estate developers, the mine-owners and contractors do not let these communities enjoy the fields and properties that they cultivate, by polluting the same/dumping waste/debris on their fields, knowing very well that their vulnerability makes them less powerful in reporting and following up complaints. It is done knowingly, given that surnames coupled with the place from where they belong is a clear cut indication of the identity of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Lastly, it needs to be stated that the States should upload the annual reports that they send to the Union Ministry on their department websites, so that they meet the test of public scrutiny. It then can become easier for the citizens of each state to do an audit and hold all the concerned accountable.
(Albertina Almeida is a lawyer and human rights activist)
