In a significant disclosure, the Rajasthan police have revealed that nearly 40 per cent of the cases filed in the state in 2020 under The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 were found to be fake, reports Indian Express.
According to the Indian Express report, the Rajasthan police have shared the official records which show that 39.55 per cent of all cases filed for atrocities against women were also found to be fake.
The details were announced in an annual press conference at the Rajasthan Police Headquarters at Jaipur on January 11.
According to state government data, under the SC/ST act, cases involving members of the Scheduled Castes (SC) went up by 3 per cent while those involving Scheduled Tribes members went up by 5 per cent.
42% of atrocity cases involving SCs and 40% of those with STs are found to be fake: Rajasthan police
However, as many as 42.17 per cent of all cases filed for atrocities against SCs and 40.04 per cent cases filed for atrocities against STs were found to be fake during the investigation.
The Rajasthan police further said that a total of 7,017 cases were registered for atrocities against SCs in 2020. Out of these, a Final Report (adam vaku) was filed in 2,959 cases. An FR (adam vaku) is filed when during the investigation, it is found that the alleged offence did not occur. Similarly, a total of 1,878 cases were filed for atrocities against STs in 2020 and, of these, FR (adam vaku) was filed in 752 or 40.04 per cent cases.
Speaking to the media, DGP ML Lather said that barring the two offences of murder and attempt to murder, cases lodged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 2020 had decreased by 14.21 per cent, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He also added that there has been a reduction of 16.49 per cent in the registration of cases for crimes against women from 41,115 in 2019 to 34,368 cases in 2020. These figures include the numbers of dowry death, rape, molestation, kidnapping, and so on. Of the total 34,368 cases filed in 2020, 13,594 or 39.55 per cent cases were found to be fake.
In 2020, a total of 1.93 lakh IPC cases were lodged across Rajasthan. Nearly 25 per cent or 47,481 cases were found to be fake. An FIR was filed in 29,917 cases after the police could not find the given evidence or in absence of evidence.
Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, also known as the SC/ST Act, was enacted to protect the marginalized communities against discrimination and atrocities.
The law lists various offences relating to various patterns or behaviours inflicting criminal offences and breaking the self-respect and esteem of the scheduled castes and tribes community, which includes denial of economic, democratic, and social rights, discrimination, exploitation, and abuse of the legal process.
Under Section 18 of the act, provision for anticipatory bail is not available to the offenders. Any public servant, who deliberately neglects his duties under this act, is liable to punishment with imprisonment for up to 6 months. An amendment was added to the original act in 2015 to make the act more stringent by adding more instances of “atrocities” as crimes against SCs and STs.
The controversial law has fuelled a major debate in the country pertaining to the cases of rampant misuse by the SC/ST communities by falsely registering cases against the members of other communities. Taking this to cognizance, the Supreme Court, in its 2018 judgment had diluted the stringent provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
However, the Union government brought another amendment act to nullify the Supreme Court’s 2018 order pertaining to the SC/ST atrocities act. Subsequently, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018.
