Appeal rate just 0.2% for acquittals under SC/ST atrocities Act

Study favours half-yearly work review of public prosecutors

In 2023, close to 22% of cases registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, have ended in an acquittal.

Of these, an appeal was filed only in 0.2% of the cases, a survey conducted across Tumkuru, Chikkamagaluru and Raichur showed.

Since 2016, the number of acquittal cases in which an appeal has been filed has remained below 20%.

The study, hence, recommended that the performance of public prosecutors should be reviewed in January and July every year, as required by Rule 4(2) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995. 

“Monthly review of cases by the district magistrate and the officer in charge of prosecution at the district level should be conducted as required by Rule 4(4) of the Rules,” the study suggested. While the law mandated that a charge sheet be filed within 60 days of the complaint under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, data showed that, in 2023, in nearly 20% of the cases, charge sheet was filed after 60 days. The disposal rate at the courts have also been low, the study noted.

The data showed that the number of atrocity cases has increased over the years. In 2016, as many as 1,082 cases were filed and this increased to 1,896 by 2023.