Scheduled Tribes Archives - Arunachal Pradesh PCS Free Notes

Provisions of SC/ST Atricities act,

The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to prevent atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The Act is popularly known as POA, the SC/ST Act, the Prevention of Atrocities Act, or simply the Atrocities Act.

Article 17 of Indian Constitution seeks to abolish ‘untouchability’ and to forbid all such practices. It is basically a “statement of principle” that needs to be made operational with the ostensible objective to remove humiliation and multifaceted harassments meted to the Dalits and to ensure their fundamental and socio-economic, political, and cultural rights.

Objectives of the act

The basic objective and purpose of this more comprehensive and more punitive piece of legislation was sharply enunciated when the Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha:

“Despite various measures to improve the socio-economic conditions of the SCs and STs, they remain vulnerable… They have, in several brutal incidents, been deprived of their life and property… Because of the awareness created… through spread of education, etc., when they assert their rights and resist practices of untouchability against them or demand statutory minimum wages or refuse to do any bonded and forced labour, the vested interests try to cow them down and terrorise them. When the SCs and STs try to preserve their self-respect or honour of their women, they become irritants for the dominant and the mighty… Under the circumstances, the existing laws like the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 and the normal provisions of the Indian Penal Code have been found to be inadequate to check and deter crimes against them committed by non-SCs and non-STs… It is considered necessary that not only the term ‘atrocity’ should be defined, but also stringent measures should be introduced to provide for higher punishment for committing such atrocities. It is also proposed to enjoin on the States and Union Territories to take specific preventive and punitive measures to protect SCs and STs from being victimized and, where atrocities are committed, to provide adequate relief and assistance to rehabilitate them”.

The objectives of the Act, therefore, very clearly emphasise the intention of the Indian state to deliver justice to SC/ST communities through affirmative action in order to enable them to live in society with dignity and self-esteem and without fear, violence or suppression from the dominant castes.

The salient features of the Act are:

Creation of new types of offences not in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or in the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 (PCRA).
Commission of offences only by specified persons (atrocities can be committed only by non-SCs and non-STs on members of the SC or ST communities. Crimes among SCs and STs or between STs and SCs do not come under the purview of this Act).
Defines various types of atrocities against SCs/STs.
Prescribes stringent punishment for such atrocities.
Enhanced punishment for some offences.
Enhanced minimum punishment for public servants.
Punishment for neglect of duties by a public servant.
Attachment and forfeiture of property.
Externment of potential offenders.
Creation of Special Courts.
Appointment of Special Public Prosecutors.
Empowers the government to impose collective fines
Cancellation of arms licences in the areas identified where an atrocity may take place or has taken place (Rule 3iii) and seize all illegal fire arms (Rule 3iv).
Grant arms licences to SCs and STs.

Defining ‘atrocity’

Atrocity is “an expression commonly used to refer to crimes against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in India”.
It “denotes the quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane, whereas the term ‘crime’ relates to an act punishable by law”.
It implies “any offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) committed against SCs by non-SC persons, or against STs by non-ST persons. Caste consideration as a motive is not necessary to make such an offence in case of atrocity”.
It signifies “crimes which have ingredients of infliction of suffering in one form or the other that should be included for reporting”. This is based on the assumption that “where the victims of crime are members of Scheduled Castes and the offenders do not belong to Scheduled Castes caste considerations are really the root cause of the crime, even though caste considerations may not be the vivid and minimum motive for the crime”.

The Act lists 22 offences relating to various patterns of behaviours inflicting criminal offences for shattering the self-respect and esteem of SCs and STs, denial of economic, democratic and social rights, discrimination, exploitation and abuse of the legal process, etc.

Section 3 of the Act lists the criminal offences and the punishments. It contains:

19 offences in their own right (Section 3(1) contains 15 subsections with an equal number of offences. Section 3(2) contains four subsections with offences).
two derived offences (sections 3(2)(vi) and 3(2)(vii)). The derived offences are based on the offences given in the SC/ST Act. They only come in the picture provided that another offence under the SC/ST Act has been committed.
one subsection that increases the punishment for certain offences under the IPC (Section 3(2)(v)).

These protections can be broadly divided into protection from:

social disabilities (denial of access to certain places and to use customary passage and to get water from any spring, reservoir or any other source).
personal atrocities (forceful drinking or eating of inedible or obnoxious substance, against stripping, outrage of modesty, sexual exploitation, injury or annoyance). atrocities affecting properties (land, residential premises, existing properties).
malicious prosecution.
political disabilities. economic exploitation

National and state SC/ST commission

National SC commission

National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) is an Indian constitutional body established with a view to provide safeguards against the exploitation of Scheduled Castes to promote and protect their social, educational, economic and cultural interests, special provisions were made in the Constitution.

Functions

To investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes under this Constitution or under any other law for the time being in force or under any order of the Government and to evaluate the working of such safeguards.
To inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of the Scheduled Castes.
To participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of the Scheduled Castes and to evaluate the progress of their development under the Union and any State.
To present to the President, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards.
To make in such reports recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the Union or any State for the effective implementation of those safeguards and other measures for the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the Scheduled Castes.
To discharge such other functions in relation to the protection, welfare and development and advancement of the Scheduled Castes as the President may, subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, by rule specify.

National ST commission

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) was established by amending Article 338 and inserting a new Article 338A in the Constitution through the Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003. By this amendment, the erstwhile National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was replaced by two separate Commissions namely-

the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC),
(ii) the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) w.e.f. 19 February, 2004.

Powers of the Commission

For Investigation and Inquiry, the Commission is vested with powers of a civil court having authority to:

Summon and enforce attendance of any person and examine on oath.
Discovery & production of any documents.
Receive evidence on affidavits.
Requisition any public record or copy thereof from any court or office.
Issue Commissions for examination of witnesses and documents.
And Any matter which President, by rule, may determine.

Functions of the Commission

To investigate & Monitor matters relating to Safeguards provided for STs under the Constitution or under other laws or under Govt. Order, to evaluate the working of such Safeguards.
To inquire into specific complaints relating to Rights & Safeguards of STs.
To participate and advise in the Planning Process relating to Socio-economic development of STs, and to evaluate the progress of their development under the Union and any State.
To submit report to the President annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, upon/ working of Safeguards, Measures required for effective implementation of Programmers/ Schemes relating to Welfare and Socio-economic development of STs.
To discharge such other functions in relation to STs as the President may, subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, by rule specify.
The Commission would also discharge the following other functions in relation to the protection, welfare and development & advancement of the Scheduled Tribes, namely:
Measures that need to be taken over conferring ownership rights in respect of minor forest produce to the Scheduled Tribes living in forest areas.
Measures to be taken to safeguard rights to the Tribal Communities over mineral resources, water resources etc. as per law.
Measures to be taken for the development of tribals and to work for move viable livelihood strategies.
Measures to be taken to improve the efficacy of relief and rehabilitation measures for tribal groups displaced by development projects.
Measures to be taken to prevent alienation of tribal people from land and to effectively rehabilitate such people in whose case alienation has already taken place.
Measures to be taken to elicit maximum cooperation and involvement of Tribal Communities for protecting forests and undertaking social afforestation.

State level SC/ST commission

Different states has founded SC/ST commissions to address the issues related to both the casts.

Role of State level commission:

The study the existing state of various provisions in the Constitutions and by the State Government for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes and suggest measures to fulfill the same.
To investigate various grievances raised by members from Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
To participate in the process of creation of schemes related to the economic upliftment of Scheduled Castes and Tribes and provide advice to the State Government regarding the same.
To take a review of matters registered under the Scheduled Castes / Tribes Atrocities Act 1989 and Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955.
To take review of the financial assistance to be given to the affected persons under the above mentioned acts. To accept and investigate grievances of SC/ST employees related to service.
To take a review of policies related to Scheduled Castes / Tribes. To provide advice to the State Government for rolling out beneficial schemes for Scheduled Castes and Tribes.