Lok Sabha Question No. 2946 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-18
Subject: Atrocities against Minorities
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Dr. Mohammad Jawed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2946

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 18 TH  MARCH, 2025/ PHALGUNA 27, 1946 (SAKA)

ATROCITIES AGAINST MINORITIES

2946.     DR. MOHAMMAD JAWED:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  number  of  reported  cases  of  atrocities,  violence,  and discrimination  against  minorities  and  Dalits  during  the  last  three years, State-wise;
- (b) the steps taken by the Government to prevent such incidents and ensure the safety and security of minority and Dalit communities;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  specific  measures  to strengthen legal protections and fast-track justice for victims; and
- (d) the allocation and utilization of funds under schemes meant for the welfare and protection of minority and Dalit communities?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI BANDI SANJAY KUMAR)

(a)  :  National  Crime  Records  Bureau  (NCRB)  compiles  statistical data on crimes as reported to it by the States/UTs and publishes the same in its annual publication 'Crime in India'. The latest published report  pertains  to  the  year  2022.  The  State/UT  wise  details  of number of cases  registered under  crime against  Scheduled Castes

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 2946 FOR 18.03.2025

(SCs)  during  years  2020-2022  are  at  Annexure.  However,  Specific data regarding crime against individual communities is not maintained centrally by NCRB.

(b)  to  (d)  :  'Police'  and  'Public  Order'  are  State  subjects  under  the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility of maintaining  law  and  order,  safety,  security,  protection  of  life  and property  of  the  citizens  including  Scheduled  Castes  (SCs)  and Minorities rests with the respective State Governments/UT Administrations,  who  are  competent  to  deal  with  such  offences under the extant provisions of laws.

The Government of India is committed to ensure protection of its  citizen  including  members  of  Scheduled  Castes  &  minorities throughout the country and supports & supplements the efforts of the State Governments to effectively tackle crime against SCs and Minorities.  Major  steps  taken  by  the  Government  of  India  in  this regard are as follows :- i. To make the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 more effective and to provide greater justice

and enhanced redressal to injustice suffered by the atrocity victims, this  Act  has  been  amended  in  the  year  2015.  The  amendment includes new offences, expanded scope of presumptions, institutional strengthening, which inter-alia includes establishment of  Exclusive  Special  Courts  and  specification  of  Exclusive  Special Public Prosecutors to exclusively try offences under the POA Act to enable expeditious disposal of cases, power of Special Courts and Exclusive Special Courts to take direct cognizance of offences.

ii.  Section 18 of the POA Act was amended through the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment  Act,  2018  and  enforced  with  effect  from  20.08.2018. Conduct of a preliminary enquiry before registration of an FIR or to seek approval of any authority prior to arrest of an accused is no longer required.

iii.  A  National  Helpline  against  Atrocities  (NHAA),  having  toll  free number  14566  has  been  established  to  facilitate  the  members  of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes with the objective of their grievance redressal and to generate awareness about the provisions and processes under the Law. A collaboration has also been made with the National Legal  Services  Authority  (NALSA) for

awareness generation of these Acts, Rules and centrally sponsored scheme in force.

iv. Additionally, Ministry of Home Affairs has been advising the State Governments/ UT Administrations from time to time to give focused attention to effective administration of the criminal justice system with emphasis on prevention and control of crimes against Scheduled Castes and to implement the provisions of the POA Act and Rules in letter and spirit. These advisories are available at the website of this Ministry www.mha.gov.in.

v. Ministry of Home Affairs has also advised the States and UTs to identify the Atrocity-prone areas for taking preventive measures to save life and property of the members of the SC communities and post  adequate  number  of  police  personnel,  fully  equipped  with policing  infrastructure  in  the  Police  Stations  in  such  vulnerable areas.

vi.  Bureau  of  Police  Research  &  Development  (BPR&D)  conducts training, courses and webinars from time to time for police personnel sensitizing them for effective implementation of Scheduled  Castes  and  Scheduled  Tribes  (Prevention  of  Atrocities) (POA) Act, 1989.

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 2946 FOR 18.03.2025

vii. Department of Social Justice and Empowerment,  runs  a Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  under  which  Central  Assistance  is provided to the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations  for  effective  implementation  of  Protection  of  Civil Rights  (PCR)  Act,  1955  and  the  Scheduled  Castes  (SC)  and  the Scheduled  Tribes  (ST)  (Prevention  of  Atrocities)  {POA}  Act  1989. The  Central  assistance  is  released  mainly  for  functioning  and strengthening of the  Scheduled  Castes  and  Scheduled  Tribes Protection Cell and Special Police Stations, setting up and functioning of exclusive Special Courts, Relief and Rehabilitation of atrocity victims, Incentive for Inter-Caste Marriages, where one of the  spouses  is  a  member  of  a  Scheduled  Castes  and  Awareness generation/publicity. The Central assistance under the SC/ST (PoA) Act, 1989  for last 3 years  and  current  financial  year  as  on 05.03.2025 is as below:

|   Sl. No. | Financial Year             |   Central Assistance Released (Rs. in Crores) |
|-----------|----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
|         1 | 2021-22                    |                                        610.11 |
|         2 | 2022-23                    |                                        392.7  |
|         3 | 2023-24                    |                                        535.3  |
|         4 | 2024-25 (as on 05.03.2025) |                                        470.51 |

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 2946 FOR 18.03.2025

viii. The allocation and utilization of funds under schemes meant for the welfare and protection of Minorities for the last 2 financial years by Ministry of Minority Affairs is as below:

(Rs. in Crores)

|   Sl. No. | Financial Year   |   Allocation at Revised Estimate Stage |   Actual Expenditure /Utilisation |
|-----------|------------------|----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
|         1 | 2022-23          |                                2612.66 |                            837.68 |
|         2 | 2023-24          |                                2608.93 |                           1032.65 |

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Annexure L.S.US.Q.NO. 2946 FOR 18.03.2025

## State/UT-wise Cases Registered under Crime against SCs during 2020 to 2022

| S.                | State/UT                  |   SCs |   SCs |   SCs |
|-------------------|---------------------------|-------|-------|-------|
| No.               |                           |  2020 |  2021 |  2022 |
| 1                 | Andhra Pradesh            |  1950 |  2014 |  2315 |
| 2                 | Arunachal Pradesh         |     0 |     0 |     0 |
| 3                 | Assam                     |    28 |    15 |    14 |
| 4                 | Bihar                     |  7368 |  5842 |  6509 |
| 5                 | Chhattisgarh              |   316 |   330 |   323 |
| 6                 | Goa                       |     2 |     4 |     8 |
| 7                 | Gujarat                   |  1326 |  1201 |  1279 |
| 8                 | Haryana                   |  1210 |  1628 |  1633 |
| 9                 | Himachal Pradesh          |   251 |   244 |   210 |
| 10                | Jharkhand                 |   666 |   546 |   674 |
| 11                | Karnataka                 |  1398 |  1673 |  1977 |
| 12                | Kerala                    |   846 |   948 |  1050 |
| 13                | Madhya Pradesh            |  6899 |  7214 |  7733 |
| 14                | Maharashtra               |  2569 |  2503 |  2743 |
| 15                | Manipur                   |     0 |     0 |     0 |
| 16                | Meghalaya                 |     0 |     0 |     0 |
| 17                | Mizoram                   |     0 |     0 |     5 |
| 18                | Nagaland                  |     0 |     0 |     0 |
| 19                | Odisha                    |  2046 |  2327 |  2902 |
| 20                | Punjab                    |   165 |   200 |   162 |
| 21                | Rajasthan                 |  7017 |  7524 |  8752 |
| 22                | Sikkim                    |     0 |     2 |     3 |
| 23                | Tamil Nadu                |  1274 |  1377 |  1761 |
| 24                | Telangana                 |  1959 |  1772 |  1787 |
| 25                | Tripura                   |     2 |     3 |     2 |
| 26                | Uttar Pradesh             | 12714 | 13146 | 15368 |
| 27                | Uttarakhand               |    87 |   123 |   114 |
| 28                | West Bengal               |   109 |   108 |   104 |
|                   | TOTAL STATE(S)            | 50202 | 50744 | 57428 |
| 29                | A&N Islands               |     0 |     0 |     0 |
| 30                | Chandigarh                |     3 |     0 |     4 |
| 31                | D&N Haveli and Daman &Diu |     1 |     0 |     0 |
| 32                | Delhi                     |    69 |   136 |   130 |
| 33                | Jammu &Kashmir            |     7 |    13 |    11 |
| 34                | Ladakh                    |     0 |     0 |     0 |
| 35                | Lakshadweep               |     0 |     0 |     0 |
| 36                | Puducherry                |     9 |     7 |     9 |
|                   | TOTAL UT(S)               |    89 |   156 |   154 |
| TOTAL (ALL INDIA) |                           | 50291 | 50900 | 57582 |

Source: Crime in India