A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district recently acquitted three people accused of atrocities against Dalits for want of evidence. This is not a one-off incident. It is a routine pattern. Poor investigations and an apathetic police force have become a bane in cases involving atrocities against Dalits. Data shows that the conviction rate in Dalit-atrocity cases is abysmally low in most of the Hindi-speaking states, including Uttar Pradesh.
The FIR in the Gonda case says that Sridevi of Beni Khera village was burnt alive on the night of 1 March 2021. Santosh Kumar, Chhotu alias Ranjeet and Rupesh Kumar alias Chhote Babu were arrested and charged with murder. But the police could not gather enough evidence against the accused and all three were acquitted, giving them the benefit of doubt by Surya Prakash Singh, Special Judge (SC-ST Atrocities Act).
In a similar instance of atrocity, including murder, in Agra, the accused were let off by the court for want of evidence. On 23 May 2007, Banti (25) was shot dead in the Transport Nagar locality of Agra. The case dragged on for 18 years but the police could not garner enough evidence against the accused. The court of the Special Judge (SC-ST Atrocities Act) found material contradictions in the testimonies of the witnesses and acquitted the accused.
In October last year, a court in Raebareli acquitted the accused in a case involving murder of a Dalit youth. The victim, Hariom Valmiki, was mentally challenged. The police arraigned many people as accused but could not prove the charges against even one. The court found inconsistencies in the depositions of the witnesses and acquitted the accused.
Moving beyond Uttar Pradesh, a court in Gujarat acquitted 37 of the 42 accused in the infamous Una flogging incident of 2016. Dalits were falsely accused of slaughtering cows and beaten. This triggered nationwide protests. However, the police could prove charges against only five of the 42 accused. They were sentenced to five years in jail each. Several policemen were among the acquitted. Two of the accused had passed away before the judgment was delivered.
These incidents are just some instances, underlining the fact that the police are not interested in securing convictions in cases involving Dalit atrocities. According to social activist Mohammed Noor Alam, police do register cases under public pressure, and on occasions, due to legal compulsions. But when it comes to securing convictions, the entire system shows little interest. Noor Alam blames poor representation of the Dalits in the prosecution agencies and the judiciary for this state of affairs. He says that the entire machinery, right from the police to the courts, has a soft corner for the accused and little sympathy for the accused.
Be that as it may, it is a fact that in a majority of Dalit-atrocity cases, the accused walk free. According to the data for the year 2022, compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), more than 50,000 cases of violence against members of the Scheduled Castes were registered in the country. But 80 per cent of them ended in acquittals. In the same year, around 10,000 cases involving atrocities against members of the Scheduled Tribes were registered. In these cases, the rate of conviction was between 26 per cent and 28 per cent, which, again means that a majority of the accused were not convicted due to loopholes in the investigation. The conviction rate in criminal cases is already low in India, but in cases involving Dalit atrocities, it is even lower than the national average of 44 per cent.
On an average, seven of every ten accused charged under Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 are acquitted. This is a matter of deep concern as the SC-ST Act provides for a very robust framework for initial inquiries and investigation. Around 70 to 80 per cent of such cases are stuck in courts for years. This translates into many witnesses dying during trial. Many others turn hostile. In states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the savarnas have a greater sway than in the other states, the conviction rates tend to be lower and instances of witnesses turning hostile are very common
Sandeep Verma, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, believes that the entire system is prejudiced against Dalits. When complaints are registered under the SC-ST Act, the investigators begin with the presumption that the case is false. The victims are pressurized to withdraw the cases and the witnesses, to back out from their statements when deposing in courts.
Clearly, while a comprehensive law is in place to combat atrocities against Dalits, the enabling environment for its proper implementation is missing. Mohammed Noor Alam says that justice will continue to elude the Dalits and other weaker sections of society till the investigative agencies and the courts do not change their mindset. They need to develop empathy for the victims and learn to listen to the weak and the oppressed. Speeding up trials and ensuring security for the witnesses will also help enhance the conviction rate. Sadly, nothing like that seems to be on the horizon.
(Translated from the original Hindi by Amrish Herdenia)
Forward Press also publishes books on Bahujan issues. Forward Press Books sheds light on the widespread problems as well as the finer aspects of Bahujan (Dalit, OBC, Adivasi, Nomadic, Pasmanda) society, culture, literature and politics. Contact us for a list of FP Books’ titles and to order. Mobile: +917827427311, Email: info@forwardmagazine.in
