Contributed by Deepak Miglani Adv. and Dinesh Miglani Adv.
Despite various measures to improve the socio-economic conditions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, they remain vulnerable. They are denied number of civil rights. They are subjected to various offences, indignities, humiliations and harassment. They have, in several brutal incidents, been deprived of their life and property. Serious crimes are committed against them for various historical, social and economic reasons. Under the circumstances the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the normal provisions of the Indian Penal Code have been found to be inadequate to check these crimes. A special legislation to check and deter crimes against them committed by non-Scheduled Castes and non-Scheduled Tribes has, therefore, become necessary. So, The Scheduled Castes and The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 was enacted to prevent the commission of offences of atrocities against the members of the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes.
OFFENCES OF ATROCITIES
Section 3 of the above mentioned act explain the type of atrocities which can be committed against the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe by the person whoever not the member of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe.
Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, commits the following acts:-
1.Forces to eat any inedible or obnoxious substance:- Who ever forces a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance;
2. Dumping excreta, waste matter, carcasses and any other obnoxious substance:- Who ever acts with intent to cause injury , insult or annoyance to any member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe by dumping excreta, waste matter, carcasses or any other obnoxious substance in his premises or neighbourhood;
3. Forcibly remove clothes and paraded naked or with painted face:- Who forcibly removes clothes from the person of a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or parades him naked or with painted face or body or commits any similar act which is derogatory to human dignity;
4. Wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land:- Who ever wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or allotted to , or notified by any competent authority to be allotted to , a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him transferred;
5. Wrongfully dispossess from land:- Wrongfully dispossess a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe from his land or premises or interferes with the enjoyment of his rights over any land, premises or water;
6. Compel or entices to beggar:-Whoever compel or entices a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to do “beggar” or other similar forms of forced or bonded labour other than any compulsory service for public purposes imposed by Government;
7. Force or intimidates to vote or not to vote:-Forces or intimidates a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe not to vote or to vote to a particular candidate or to vote in a manner other than that provided by law;
8. Institutes false, malicious or vexatious suit:- Who ever institutes false, malicious or vexatious suit or criminal or other legal proceedings against a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe;
9. Gives any false or frivolous information to any pubic servant to use his lawful power to use his lawful power to the injury or annoyance :- Who ever gives any false or frivolous information to any public servant and thereby causes such public servant to use his lawful power to the injury or annoyance of a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe;
10.Intentiaionally insults or intimidates to humiliate:- Who ever intentionally insults and intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in any place within public view;
11. Assaults or uses force to any woman with intent to dishonour or outrage her modesty:-Who ever assaults or uses force to any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonour or outrage her modesty;
12.Dominate the will of a woman to exploit her sexually:- Who ever being in position to dominate the will of woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and uses that position to exploit her sexually to which she would not have otherwise agreed;
13.Corrupts or fouls the water of any spring, reservoir or any other source:-Who ever corrupts or fouls the water of any spring , reservoir or any other source ordinarily used by members of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used.
14.Denies any customary right of passage to place of public resort or obstruct member from using and having access:- Who ever denies a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe any customary right of passage to place of public resort or obstruct such member so as to prevent him from using or having access to place of public resort to which other members of public or any section thereof have a right to use or access to ;
15.Force or causes to leave house, village or other place of residence:-Forces or causes a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to leave his house, village or other place of residence
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years and with fine.
Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe,-
(i)Gives and fabricates false evidence intending thereby to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause, any member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to be convicted of an offence which is capital by the law for the time being in force shall be punished with imprisionment of life and with fine; and if an innocent member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe be convicted and executed in consequence of such false or fabricated evidence, the person who gives or fabricates such false evidence, shall be punished with death;
(ii)Gives or fabricates false evidence intending thereby to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause, any member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to be convicted of an offence which is not capital but punishable with imprisonment for a term of seven year or upwards , shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to seven years or upwards and with fine;
(iii)Commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance to cause damage to any property:- Who ever commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance intending to cause or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause damage to any property belonging to a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to seven year and with fine;
(iv)Commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance to cause damage to any property which ordinarily used as a place of worship or as a place of human dwelling etc:-Who ever commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance intending to cause or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause destruction of any building which is ordinarily used as a place of worship or as a place for human dwelling or as a place for custody of the property by a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe , shall be punishable with imprisonment for life and with fine;
(v)Commits any offence under the Indian Penal Code(45 of 1860) punishable with imprisonment for a term of ten years or more against a person or property :- Who ever commits any offence under the Indian Penal Code(45 of 1860) punishable with imprisonment for a term of ten years or more against a person or property on the ground that such person is a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or such property belongs to such member, shall be punishable with imprisonment for life and with fine;
(vi)Causes any evidence to disappear with the intention of screening the offender from legal punishment:- Who ever knowingly or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed under this chapter , causes any evidence of the commission of that offence to disappear with the intention of screening the offender from legal punishment, or with that intention gives any information respecting the offence which he knows or believes to be false, shall be punishable with the punishment provided for that offence;or
(vii)Public servant who ever commits any offence under this section :-Who ever being a public servant, commits any offence under this section, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less that one year but which may extend to the punishment provided for that purpose.
Section 3 of the above mentioned act explain the type of atrocities which can be committed against the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe by the person whoever not the member of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe.
Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, commits the following acts:-
1.Forces to eat any inedible or obnoxious substance:- Who ever forces a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance;
2. Dumping excreta, waste matter, carcasses and any other obnoxious substance:- Who ever acts with intent to cause injury , insult or annoyance to any member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe by dumping excreta, waste matter, carcasses or any other obnoxious substance in his premises or neighbourhood;
3. Forcibly remove clothes and paraded naked or with painted face:- Who forcibly removes clothes from the person of a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or parades him naked or with painted face or body or commits any similar act which is derogatory to human dignity;
4. Wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land:- Who ever wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or allotted to , or notified by any competent authority to be allotted to , a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him transferred;
5. Wrongfully dispossess from land:- Wrongfully dispossess a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe from his land or premises or interferes with the enjoyment of his rights over any land, premises or water;
6. Compel or entices to beggar:-Whoever compel or entices a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to do “beggar” or other similar forms of forced or bonded labour other than any compulsory service for public purposes imposed by Government;
7. Force or intimidates to vote or not to vote:-Forces or intimidates a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe not to vote or to vote to a particular candidate or to vote in a manner other than that provided by law;
8. Institutes false, malicious or vexatious suit:- Who ever institutes false, malicious or vexatious suit or criminal or other legal proceedings against a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe;
9. Gives any false or frivolous information to any pubic servant to use his lawful power to use his lawful power to the injury or annoyance :- Who ever gives any false or frivolous information to any public servant and thereby causes such public servant to use his lawful power to the injury or annoyance of a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe;
10.Intentiaionally insults or intimidates to humiliate:- Who ever intentionally insults and intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in any place within public view;
11. Assaults or uses force to any woman with intent to dishonour or outrage her modesty:-Who ever assaults or uses force to any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonour or outrage her modesty;
12.Dominate the will of a woman to exploit her sexually:- Who ever being in position to dominate the will of woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and uses that position to exploit her sexually to which she would not have otherwise agreed;
13.Corrupts or fouls the water of any spring, reservoir or any other source:-Who ever corrupts or fouls the water of any spring , reservoir or any other source ordinarily used by members of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used.
14.Denies any customary right of passage to place of public resort or obstruct member from using and having access:- Who ever denies a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe any customary right of passage to place of public resort or obstruct such member so as to prevent him from using or having access to place of public resort to which other members of public or any section thereof have a right to use or access to ;
15.Force or causes to leave house, village or other place of residence:-Forces or causes a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to leave his house, village or other place of residence
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years and with fine.
Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe,-
(i)Gives and fabricates false evidence intending thereby to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause, any member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to be convicted of an offence which is capital by the law for the time being in force shall be punished with imprisionment of life and with fine; and if an innocent member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe be convicted and executed in consequence of such false or fabricated evidence, the person who gives or fabricates such false evidence, shall be punished with death;
(ii)Gives or fabricates false evidence intending thereby to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause, any member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to be convicted of an offence which is not capital but punishable with imprisonment for a term of seven year or upwards , shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to seven years or upwards and with fine;
(iii)Commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance to cause damage to any property:- Who ever commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance intending to cause or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause damage to any property belonging to a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to seven year and with fine;
(iv)Commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance to cause damage to any property which ordinarily used as a place of worship or as a place of human dwelling etc:-Who ever commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance intending to cause or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause destruction of any building which is ordinarily used as a place of worship or as a place for human dwelling or as a place for custody of the property by a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe , shall be punishable with imprisonment for life and with fine;
(v)Commits any offence under the Indian Penal Code(45 of 1860) punishable with imprisonment for a term of ten years or more against a person or property :- Who ever commits any offence under the Indian Penal Code(45 of 1860) punishable with imprisonment for a term of ten years or more against a person or property on the ground that such person is a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or such property belongs to such member, shall be punishable with imprisonment for life and with fine;
(vi)Causes any evidence to disappear with the intention of screening the offender from legal punishment:- Who ever knowingly or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed under this chapter , causes any evidence of the commission of that offence to disappear with the intention of screening the offender from legal punishment, or with that intention gives any information respecting the offence which he knows or believes to be false, shall be punishable with the punishment provided for that offence;or
(vii)Public servant who ever commits any offence under this section :-Who ever being a public servant, commits any offence under this section, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less that one year but which may extend to the punishment provided for that purpose.
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