The UPA Cabinet has reportedly approved some amendments to strengthen the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Amendments are sorely needed, since the conviction rate under the Act is abysmal – as low as 1-5%.
The scope of the Act needs to be expanded. As the Act stands now, various common forms of caste discrimination are not recognised by it: such as social and economic boycotts, segregation of Dalit children in schools, two tumbler system; preventing Dalits from accessing public wells or ponds or temples.
One of the reasons for the low conviction rate has been the reluctance of courts to accept that caste atrocity was the intent behind a crime like rape or murder. In the Khairlanji gang-rape and massacre case, for instance, the court did convict the accused, but refused to do so under the SC/ST POA Act. To correct this situation, it is necessary to amend the law so that the Act can be invoked if the perpetrator of the crime knew that the victim was of the Dalit caste. For instance, in a rape case, of course the evidentiary requirements to establish rape will remain the same as in the rape law. But the perpetrator can be punished under the SC/ST POA Act if it is established that, at the time of the rape, he knew that the victim was a dalit.
It is crucial that the SC/ST POA Act must cover all dalits and adivasis irrespective of religion. Merely converting to Christianity, Islam, Buddhism or Sikhism does not end the caste discrimination faced by the dalits and adivasis. There is widespread evidence of continued caste discrimination and violence faced by dalits who have converted to Christianity or Islam.
Preventing and monitoring mechanisms, as well as measures to ensure accountability of the State machinery, are also called for. Failure of State officials to act in accordance with their duty to prevent and curb caste-based violence must be made punishable.
It has been seen in caste-based massacres (such as at Bathe and Bathani Tola) that police bias resulted in a shoddy investigation, where crucial evidence was lost. It must be mandatory in every case of caste-based mass violence, for the investigation and collection of evidence to be done by Special Investigation Teams. Time-bound trials must be ensured. Timely compensation and rehabilitation of the survivors must be ensured.
Box matter
Adarsh Scam Report Rejected
Even as the UPA Government tries to pat itself on the back for enacting the anti-corruption Lokpal, the Congress-led Government of Maharashtra stood up to defend the corrupt. The cabinet rejected the judicial commission report on the Adarsh scam, that has reportedly indicted several former Chief Ministers and also military officers and bureaucrats.
The Maharashtra Government refused to table the Adarsh Commission report in the state assembly, and the Maharashtra governor K Shankaranarayanan refused to give permission to the CBI to prosecute former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh scam case.
The 700-page report of the two-member committee, comprising Justice (Retd) J.A. Patil and former Maharashtra chief secretary P. Subramanian has said there is prima facie evidence of benami flats, and has named three former CMs Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde and Ashok Chavan for extending political patronage to the Adarsh Society. The report indicts Ashok Chavan for entering into a ‘quid pro quo’ arrangement with the Adarsh Society so that close family members could get flats in the 31-storey building. Several NCP leaders and even some BJP leaders are reportedly named.
The Adarsh Society not only involved corrupt allotment of flats, it also involves violation of laws enacted to protect the environment. The radia tapes has indicated that a major aspect of contemporary corruption is the way in which corporations influence political appointments of Ministers. The removal of the UPA’s Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan appears to have been timed to allow Rahul Gandhi to assure FICCI that environmental roadblocks in granting permission for projects will be removed.
