Lok Sabha Question No. 2123 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-04
Subject: SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Narayana Swamy Abbaiah

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

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## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2123

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 4 th  March, 2020

## SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act

## 2123. SHRI  A.  NARAYANA  SWAMY:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state?

- (a) whether  special  courts  have  been  set  up  to  try  cases  under  the  SC/ST (Prevention  of  Atrocities)  Act,  1989  in  all  districts  of  the  country,  as mandated in the Act;
- (b) if so, the details of the States which are yet to set up the Special Courts; and
- (c) the reasons for not setting up such courts by the concerned States?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (c ):Section 14 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) (PoA) Act, 1989, as amended by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)Amendment Act, 2015 (No. 1 of 2016)  specifies that for the purpose of providing for speedy trial, the State Government shall, with the  concurrence  of  the  Chief  Justice    of  the  High  Court,  establish  an  Exclusive Special  Court  for  one  or  more  Districts,  provided  that  in  Districts  where  less number of cases under this Act is recorded, the State Government shall, with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court, specify for such Districts, the Court of Session to be a Special Court to try the offences under the Act. As per available information, the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations

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of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,  Jharkhand, Karnataka,  Kerala, Madhya  Pradesh,  Maharashtra,  Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana,  Tripura,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Uttarakhand,  West  Bengal,  Andaman  & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, NCT of Delhi, and Puducherry have designated District Session Courts as Special Courts. The PoA Act, 1989 did not extend to the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. After  the  enactment  of  J&K  reorganization  Act,  2019,  PoA  Act  has  been  made applicable in the UTs of J& K and Ladakh w.e.f 31.10.2019. Arunachal Pradesh and UT of Lakshadweep not have designated Special Courts for this purpose.

'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule (List-II) to the Constitution of India and the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations  are  primarily  responsible  for  prevention,  detection,  registration, investigation and prosecution of crimes within their jurisdiction including crimes against members of SCs and STs, and also for implementation of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. However, the Central Government from time to time advises the State Governments/ Union Territory Administrations to effectively implement provisions of the PoA Act.

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