The state is listed as one of the top five states with the most SC and ST atrocity cases.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) captures the patterns of crime in our nation in its annual report, Crime in India 2021. The report details crimes committed against vulnerable groups like women, children, seniors, SCs, STs, and others. The central government is required under the POA Act of 1989 to separately record crimes and atrocities committed against SCs and STs by non-SCs and non-STs for review and monitoring, hence the information on crimes committed against SCs and STs has been recorded separately. These crimes are generally tied to caste and ethnic issues, with the offenders typically belonging to the dominant caste and socioeconomic groups in society and the victims being members of the SCs and STs.
According to reports, there have been 50,900 cases of crimes against SCs and 8,802 cases of crimes against STs documented in the nation as a whole. It demonstrates an ongoing rise in crime. In 2021, the rate of atrocities has grown by 1.2% for SCs and 6.4% for STs as compared to 2020.
The nature of cases reported include rape of women and children, attempt to rape, sexual harassment, acid attack, assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty, stalking, voyeurism, kidnaping and abduction, riots, robbery, arson, criminal intimidation, intentionally insult or intimidate with intent to humiliate, occupy/take possession of lands belonging to SCs and STs, prevent/deny or obstruct usage of public places/passages, force to leave the place of residence or social boycott and practices of untouchability.
The top five states, which account for more than 70% of all cases of atrocities against SCs and more than 75% of all cases of atrocities against STs, are UP, Rajasthan, MP, Bihar, Odisha, and Telangana. The top five states, which account for the greatest number of cases, are MP, Rajasthan, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Telangana. The state of Odisha has been listed among the top five states with the most atrocity cases committed against both SCs and STs.
By the end of 2021, there are a total of 2,63,512 SC cases and 42512 ST cases in the courts, with a total of 70818 SC atrocity cases and 12159 ST atrocity cases still pending for inquiry. More than 96 percent of all cases were still awaiting trial at the end of the year. Although there were more than 80% charges filed, there were only 40% convictions. This demonstrates the state of our criminal justice system, particularly the accessibility of swift justice for victims who are most in need.
For the state of Odisha, which has a sizable population of SCs and STs, it has been a serious worry. However, the rate of criminal activity and atrocities committed against SCs and STs is not at all lower than in the states of UP, Rajasthan, and MP. According to the research, atrocities committed against SCs in Odisha have escalated over the past three years. In 2019, 1886 crimes were reported; in 2020, 2046; and in 2021, 2327 cases were reported. The same was true for STs, where reported numbers of cases registered for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021 were 576, 624, and 676, respectively.
Up till the end of 2021, there were 16355 SC cases and 5852 ST cases awaiting trial in various designated special courts throughout the state of Odisha, as well as 2692 cases of atrocities against SCs and 802 cases of STs.
Why are there so many more instances of atrocities committed against the weak and disadvantaged, mostly the working class residents of a developing country like Odisha? Social activists and researchers working on the POA Act, 1989 implementation contend that there are an equal number of cases that are underreported for a variety of reasons, including the difficulty of getting cases registered due to police resistance and the fact that many cases are resolved as a result of pressure from influential members of dominant castes. The Home Department reported data were cases registered in different police stations of the State.
The SCs and STs in Odisha are particularly prone to atrocities due to poverty, illiteracy, landlessness, and economic dependence. Unfortunately, because the state vigilance and monitoring committee, which would have been chaired by the chief minister, has not been established and because district committees led by district collectors have not held review meetings in a while, the institutional mechanism to monitor such crimes and atrocities against SCs and STs in the state has also been dysfunctional.
On the other hand, due to a lack of appropriate information regarding legal mechanisms, there is a lack of organisation at the grassroots level as self-defense measures to give security against the orchestrated crimes. Their lives are made wretched and helpless by the rising economic unrest, landlessness, unemployment, and poor income, as well as the practise of untouchability. False charges are often filed against SCs and STs who are impoverished and marginalised in order to harass them and coerce the victims into dropping their atrocity claims. The number of SC, ST, Muslim, and Christian detainees is substantially higher than their national population percentage, according to the NCRB’s Prison Statistics India 2014 report.
It demonstrates how vulnerable socially and economically disadvantaged groups are to the ongoing administration of the criminal justice system and their access to justice. According to a research on women inmates conducted by the State Commission for Women in Odisha, 63% of women convicts come from SCs, STs, and other underprivileged communities, and the majority of them are uneducated and economically underprivileged. Without a prompt and impartial trial to ensure justice, the current administration of the criminal justice system is highly depressing.
The legal assistance and justice delivery systems’ provisions have not done much to help the underprivileged in our nation, notably underdeveloped areas like Odisha. Numerous innocent SCs and STs in the south-western regions are imprisoned on charges of participation with left-wing extremists without having a chance to defend themselves.
To secure a basic level of humanitarian assistance to the underprivileged victims, the legal aid authority and prisons welfare fund have failed to cover significant inmates. Their numerous hardships have had a negative effect on their family life. For the impoverished and ignorant, the lengthy process of legal proceedings has proven agonising. To create a socially inclusive Odia society, the state administration must seriously address the long-standing concerns of crime against humanity while advancing the agenda of economic growth and social development.
Prasanta Patnaik