Of 1,018 cases under atrocities act, 70% acquittals in last five years: RTI query

Times of India: Nagpur: Friday, May 04, 2018.

Even as the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay its March 20 ruling banning automatic arrest and registration of cases under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, police data regarding conviction and acquittal, in a way, corroborates the apex court’s apprehension about the possible misuse of the law.

Community members, however, believe the data raises questions on police investigation in atrocities cases.

In Nagpur range, covering seven districts and the Government Railway Police, 1,280 cases were registered under the Act in the last five years. Of these, 1,018 chargesheets were filed which led to conviction of just 56 people and acquittal of 703 between 2013 and 2018 (till March 31).

Nagpur range jurisdiction includes Nagpur city, Nagpur rural, Bhandara, Gondia, Wardha, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli besides the GRP.

While around 70% of the people booked under the stringent provisions of the law were proved innocent, only four police custody remands (PCRs) were sought out of the 1,280 cases. The revelation came to fore following a query by activist Abhay Kolarkar under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in the light of recent Supreme Court judgment and the subsequent backlash from the members of both SC/ST communities.

On March 20, the Supreme Court had banned automatic arrest and registration of criminal cases under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, triggering a nationwide protests, which forced the central government to file a review petition. The apex court has now scheduled next hearing of the review plea to May 16.

Among the 56 convictions, 41 cases were related to offences committed against the scheduled castes while the rest were against tribals.

In 2017, the highest numbers of cases (262), chargesheets (215) and acquittals (232) were recorded in the seven districts and GRP in connection with both the SC and ST communities. In all these years, more cases were filed by SC community members as compared to the STs. In 2015, 190 cases were registered on the complaints of SC community members. In the same year, the acquittals too were the lowest at 47 for crimes against the same community.

An government official from SC community said the poor conviction and high acquittal rate points to shoddy investigation. “The higher number of cases shows the plight of the marginalized communities. Already, members from SC/ST are victimized in the name of cow vigilantism and caste biases. After Supreme Court ruling, the atrocities will only increase,” he said.