A threat to democracy
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05/20/14
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chandrasekhara.tipitaka@gmail.com
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MAY YOU BE EVER HAPPY, WELL AND SECURE
MAY YOU LIVE LONG!
MAY ALL SENTIENT AND NON-SENTIENT BEINGS BE EVER HAPPY!
MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE CALM, QUIET,
ALERT,ATTENTIVE AND
EQUANIMITY MIND WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING THAT
EVERYTHING IS CHANGING!
LOK SABHA ELECTIONS FIXING
Outcome of the May 2014 General Elections in India.
Hackers made hay in May!
From
J.Chandrasekharan
Scheduled caste
668 5A Main Road,
8th Cross, HAL 3rd Stage,
Bangalore-560075
Karnataka State
India
Mob:9449260443
Email:chandrasekhara.tipitaka@gmail.com
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
To ,
Honourable Chief Justice
Supreme Court of India
Tilak Marg,
New Delhi-110 001 (India)
PABX NOS.23388922-24,23388942-44,
FAX NOS.23381508,23381584,23384336/23384533/23384447
supremecourt@nic.in
Sub: Grievance of a Scheduled Caste
It
has been conclusively proved to the satisfaction of the Hon’ble Supreme
Court that Indian EVMs ARE tamperable.The process of elections is the
most sacrosanct duty in a Republic which ECI should carry out with
utmost diligence. Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion. Free and fair
polls should not only be ensured but APPEAR to be ensured to the
satisfaction of the voters.
India first tested EVMs in a
by-election in 1982, but the machines were first deployed on a large
scale of over 1 million in a general election in 2004.
In 2010,
security researcher Hari Prasad and his associates released a video that
they said demonstrated vulnerabilities in the EVMs, after hacking an
EVM that had already been used in an election.
Prasad and his team
replaced the display board of the machine with a look-alike component
that could be instructed through a Bluetooth connection on a mobile
phone to steal a percentage of the votes in favor of a chosen candidate.
The researchers also used a pocket-size device that could be attached
to the memory of the EVM to change the votes stored in the machine
during the period between the election and the public counting session.
The
Supreme Court has in its ruling this week asked the government to
provide the financial assistance required by the Election Commission to
roll out the EVMs. It has not set out a schedule for the full deployment
of EVMs with the paper trail.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-05-20/news/27589262_1_voting-machines-display-board-hack
American scientists ‘hack’ into Indian voting machines
LONDON:
India’s voting machines - considered to be among the world’s most
tamperproof - can be hacked, American scientists claim.
Researchers
at the University of Michigan connected a home-made device to a voting
machine and successfully changed results by sending text messages from a
mobile.
“We made an imitation display board that looks almost
exactly like the real display in the machines. But underneath some of
the components of the board, we hide a microprocessor and a Bluetooth
radio,” the BBC quoted Prof J Alex Halderman, who led the project, as
saying.
He added: “Our lookalike display board intercepts the vote
totals that the machine is trying to display and replaces them with
dishonest totals - basically whatever the bad guy wants to show up at
the end of the election.”
Moreover, they added a small
microprocessor, which they say can change the votes stored in the
machine between the election and the vote-counting session.
No one’s
right mind would yet allow the use of absolutely antiquated, completely
out-dated, easily hack-able and highly tamper-able “high school
technology” based, obsolete EVMs (electronic voting machines) in
national elections, but it was used now — in 2014
More than 80
democracies in the world have simply done away with them, dumping them
in the trash, or simply declared the usage of this simplistic voting
system susceptible to fraud, and hence declaring the same as
illegal — as the Supreme Courts of Germany and Holland indeed have done.
Even Japan, from where EVMs originated, has long abandoned its rogue
babies, and is using paper ballot system since then. All the advanced
democracies in the West, except the most dull-headed ones, have reverted
to a voter verifiable system or the ballot paper. In Canada, even at
the ,most basic school level, ballot paper voting is in use.
Last
year, the Supreme Court of India, having been convinced of an
undeniable, edible possibility of EVMs getting tampered with and that
easily hacked — even from afar — had ordered the imbecilic Election
Commission and the indolent Government of India to provide about 1600
crore (1600, 0000000) rupees — convert this into your respective
currency! — for manufacturing these VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit
Trail) voting machines; which show a verifiable paper receipt to the
voter.
This is the Fundamental Right of a citizen of India, as per
the laws laid down by the Constitution. However, recent newspaper
reports tell us that only 20, 000 such voting machines have been
provided for the entire country in this, 2014 election! India has 29
states now — with Telagana being the latest. In most of them, depending
upon their size etc., either about 400 VVPAT machines are being
deployed, or some such similar ridiculous number — more or less — has
been made available in the length and breadth of the country. It’s an
asinine, bland, cruel, demeaning joke we 1.25 billion voters have been
“blessed” with by the powers that be.
All “patriotic” hackers of our motherland made hay in May!
As
to how EVMs can be hacked into, tampered with, and results favorably
manipulated via software interference and other means — from near and
from far, far away — this can easily be found by anybody by just going
to Google etc. and filling “EVM HACKING, TAMPERING” or something to this
effect in the Search. And lo, behold! a plethora of information will
just overwhelm your overly chilled-out, lesser employed, un-billed
brains.
However, the only solace for us naive fools is that quite a
few unscrupulous politicians and every other most “honorable” political
party worthy of its “salt”, would surely be playing this comic-tragic
game of hacking into and hijacking the votes of a billion people! Thus,
one who outsmarts the other such fine folks, armed with their hacking
forks in this merry-go-around, will win.
The rest — this or that
“tsunami” or wave in favor of one or the other, poll forecasts and the
“newbie”, the over enthused, seeming game changers in the making — well,
they may well fall flat on their dumb faces, if not on their smart
asses.
That the Supreme Court of India too, while passing the order
of putting new VVAT voting machines in use in a “phased manner”, has
unwittingly shirked its duty. In fact, it committed a grave error of
judgment. Perhaps dealt a fatal blow to Indian democracy. It should have
ordered, as a caution, that till the time this newer set of about
1300ooo voting machines is manufactured in full and so deployed
throughout India, ballot paper system would be brought in. No such
precautionary measure was decreed by the apex court.
Well, crib all
you want. But don’t cry, my dear countrymen. After all, the same model
of EVMs is yet very much in use in South Africa, Bangla Desh, Bhutan,
Nepal, Nigeria, Venezuela etc. These poor folks of the said “non-techy”
countries — millions of them — too cannot figure out as to what the hell
had, yet is happening, in their dear short-circuited “developed”
democracies. Nor will you.
Don’t worry, be happy! You are not alone “out there”.
Oh,
by the way, the somewhat notorious lawyer who had brought in this
case — of the present lot of EVMs being tamper-able and hack-able — and,
who, had successfully fought it so, forcing the Supreme Court to order
the installation of a fail-safe voting mechanism (of Voter Verifiable
Paper Audit machines replacing the susceptible earlier Electronic Voting
Machines) to ensure a free and fair electoral process in India — well,
this oh-so-very honorable fellow too has fallen silent, like a demure
maiden. This most vociferous gentleman had openly declared on social
websites, especially Twitter, that in case VVPAT machines do not get
installed in time for 2014 elections, then, there would be a
“constitutional crisis” — putting it out there like an Indian
“pehalwan”, a la WWW wrestler, that he would challenge the same in the
apex court. He had most emphatically underlined he would ensure that
either the new fail-safe voting machines or the old time-tested paper
ballot system will be put in use during this general election in India.
However, recently, when asked specifically on Twitter about this
matter — as to what this lovely man is doing or is going to do about
this impending doomsday electoral scenario — there was a deafening
silence from his side. May be owing to the fact that since the Supreme
Court judgement late last year, this self-righteous rightist has joined
the ultra-rightist political bandwagon.
The latter has been projected
by pollsters to overwhelmingly sweep these elections — as a direct
result of the doings of the monstrous public relations firm hired from
the land of the let-it-be, oops! free. This US firm is the same that was
used fruitfully by President Bush and Hillary Clinton for their
respective political campaigns. It has — let there be no doubt about
it — successfully projected its client as the potential winner and the
next numero uno in Indian politics.
What the majority of the Indians
have missed in fine print is that the outgoing Chief Minister of the
state of Rajasthan, in the last year elections, had officially filed a
complaint with the election commission that the EVMs used in his state
were pre-programmed and tampered with — and that the same had come from
the state of which this presently hyped-up future Prime Minister of
India, is the current Chief Minister. Now, the lawyer who had gone to
the dogs to awaken India and the rest of the world about the mischief
and malfeasance possible with the old model of EVMs — and had in fact
written a book on this subject — is in a wink-wink deep-throat “smadhi”.
A silence that speaks truths we dumb billion idiots on this part of
slippery earth cannot fathom. Perhaps it’s a precursor of the things to
come.
Let us hope the jolly good hackers of this-that party screw-up
each other’s devilish, outright evil plans. In a dog eat dog political
crap pit we hapless billion creatures have to walk through every
election, maybe this time the ape sitting by the side — the wide-eyed
hopeful citizen of India — at least gets a tiny part of the apple pie
this messy hacking cat fight will leave behind, on the side lanes.
Perhaps these little crumbs will be enough for us to stay afloat. though
not gloat.
In a nutshell, simply put, whosoever “out-hacks” the other, will win.
Then
again, we are an ancient civilization of more than 33, 0000000 gods and
goddesses — some civilized, others not so civil. Let’s hope one of
these fancied deities has a soft corner for us dumbos. Otherwise, we are
going to get screwed. A billion times over.
Therefore, I made doubly
sure I did not vote. I sat on my ass on voting day — not that I don’t
do so everyday. This voting day, I absolutely did. Not only figuratively
and metaphorically, but literally. I may have many buts in life, but at
least today I have a little sore, yet not so sorry a butt.
We are a fool’s paradise.
Long live the banana republic of India!
LOK SABHA ELECTIONS FIXING
‘FIXING’ Indian Lok Sabha elections
Computer
Business Review appeared more certain with the “How Google search
results influenced elections” headline for its version of the story, the
Guardian reported.”……Google changed its course, it undermined people’s
trust in its results and company.”
A press release put out on 13 May
by the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, an
independent research organisation based in California created a furore
around the topic when it released a report headlined “Could Google have
fixed the Lok Sabha elections? A landmark new study in India shows it’s
possible,” the report added. (ANI)
http://mattersindia.com/google-search-threatens-democracy-study/
Google Search threatens democracy: Study
Published: 9:31 am, May 15, 2014 Story By: mattersindia.com
A threat to democracy
Washington:
As India eagerly awaits the outcome of the just concluded general
elections, a study by an American institute says the real threat to
democracy comes from an unexpected corner: Google Search.
Google
search results can pose a real threat to democracy as it could swing a
close election by influencing the voting preferences of undecided
voters, wars the American Institute for Behavioral Research and
Technology in California that studied more than 2,000 undecided voters
throughout India.
The study conducted in recent weeks suggests that
Google has the power to fix elections “without anyone being the wiser.”
This is possible because of the power that search rankings have on
people’s opinions, the researchers said.
Studies show that the higher
the rank, the more people trust the result, which is why companies are
spending billions now to push their products higher.
“So could
highly-ranked search results that make Arvind Kejriwal look better than
Narendra Modi drive votes to Kejriwal?” the researchers set out to
determine, The Times of India reported.
In research conducted last
year in the US, researchers found that search rankings biased in favor
of a candidate could push the preferences of undecided voters towards
that candidate by 15 percent or more.
The researchers have shown that
votes can easily be pushed toward one candidate or another by about 12
percent — double that amount in some demographic groups — enough to
determine the outcomes of many close races.
“This is a very serious
matter — a real threat to democracy,” said Dr Robert Epstein, lead
researcher in the study and Senior Research Psychologist at the American
institute.
“If two candidates were both trying to push their
rankings higher, they would be competing, and that’s fine. But if
Google, which has a monopoly on search in India, were to favor one
candidate, it could easily put that candidate in office by manipulating
search rankings, and no one could counter what they were doing.
“Even
if without human intervention the company’s search algorithm favored
one candidate, thousands of votes would still be driven to that
candidate,” said Epstein.
In the new study, participants were
randomly assigned to groups in which search rankings favored either
Kejriwal, Rahul Gandhi, or Modi.
Real search rankings and web pages
were used, and people were asked to research all the candidates just as
they would on Google. The only difference between the groups was the
order in which the search results were displayed.
The new study
suggests that biased search rankings can be used to fix the outcome of
races in India in which the winner is projected to win by a margin up to
2.9 percent.
This can be done just by influencing undecided voters
who use the internet — a small but important group of voters that is
sure to grow in coming years, researchers said.
Worldwide, the researchers said, upwards of 25 percent of national elections are won by margins under 3 percent.
The study also shows that certain demographic groups are especially vulnerable.
The
voting preferences of 19 percent of women over 35 were shifted in the
study, as were the voting preferences of 18 percent of voters who were
unemployed.
“Of particular concern is the fact that 99 percent of the
people in our study seemed to be unaware that the search rankings they
saw were biased. That means Google has the power to manipulate elections
without anyone suspecting they’re doing so,” said Epstein.
“To
prevent undue influence, election-related search rankings need to be
regulated and monitored, as well as subjected to equal-time rules,”
Epstein said.
Over a billion cuckoos cackle, cry and crap in India.
It
is a nation where intelligence rules in closed quarters, idiocy in the
open. Just like the open toilets under the benign gaze of Mother
Nature — there are more cell phones than toilets in India, a survey
reports. Oh! the average Indian retorts — and, then, goes on to do
“business” as usual, sitting on the haunches, as sorry-assed as
before — or sorts.
We are an indifferent,
intelligently inclined idiocy — oops! democracy, We make gods out of
mud, then, prostrating before them, we remain, as before, a dud. And,
some times, in the name of our fancied little god and his glory, my
motherland’s favorite sons also kill each other, with the deep ingrained
vigor of all our bestial ancestry, and like a whiff of wind are
gone — dead.
Lest it becomes confusing, let’s say it
as it is — we Indians, like every other human being, are truly one
really, really queer kin of apes. In some fields, ahead of others and
beyond compare; in other areas, we are as silly and supercilious as a
bull-hounded mare. In a nutshell, Indians, at least in the loftier
mystical and evolved spiritual circles “get” some things well — like
higher metaphysics — while failing miserably, simplistically, in simple,
elementary physics.
After all,
who in one’s right mind would yet allow the use of absolutely
antiquated, completely out-dated, easily hack-able and highly
tamper-able “high school technology” based, obsolete EVMs (electronic
voting machines) in national elections, even now — in 2014?
More
than 80 democracies in the world have simply done away with them,
dumping them in the trash, or simply declared the usage of this
simplistic voting system susceptible to fraud, and hence declaring the
same as illegal — as the Supreme Courts of Germany and Holland indeed
have done. Even Japan, from where EVMs originated, has long abandoned
its rogue babies, and is using paper ballot system since then. All the
advanced democracies in the West, except the most dull-headed ones, have
reverted to a voter verifiable system or the ballot paper. In Canada,
even at the ,most basic school level, ballot paper voting is in use.
Last
year, the Supreme Court of India, having been convinced of an
undeniable, edible possibility of EVMs getting tampered with and that
easily hacked — even from afar — had ordered the imbecilic Election
Commission and the indolent Government of India to provide about 1600
crore (1600, 0000000) rupees — convert this into your respective
currency! — for manufacturing these VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit
Trail) voting machines; which show a verifiable paper receipt to the
voter.
This is the Fundamental Right of a citizen of
India, as per the laws laid down by the Constitution. However, recent
newspaper reports tell us that only 20, 000 such voting machines have
been provided for the entire country in this, 2014 election! India has
29 states now — with Telagana being the latest. In most of them,
depending upon their size etc., either about 400 VVPAT machines are
being deployed, or some such similar ridiculous number — more or
less — has been made available in the length and breadth of the country.
It’s an asinine, bland, cruel, demeaning joke we 1.25 billion jokers
have been “blessed” with by the powers that be.
All “patriotic” hackers of our motherland are going to make hay in May!
As
to how EVMs can be hacked into, tampered with, and results favorably
manipulated via software interference and other means — from near and
from far, far away — this can easily be found by anybody by just going
to Google etc. and filling “EVM HACKING, TAMPERING” or
something to this effect in the Search. And lo, behold! a plethora of
information will just overwhelm your overly chilled-out, lesser
employed, un-billed brains.
However,
the only solace for us naive fools is that quite a few unscrupulous
politicians and every other most “honorable” political party worthy of
its “salt”, would surely be playing this comic-tragic game of hacking
into and hijacking the votes of a billion people! Thus, one who
outsmarts the other such fine folks, armed with their hacking forks in
this merry-go-around, will win.
The
rest — this or that “tsunami” or wave in favor of one or the other, poll
forecasts and the “newbie”, the over enthused, seeming game changers in
the making — well, they may well fall flat on their dumb faces, if not
on their smart asses.
That the Supreme Court of India
too, while passing the order of putting new VVAT voting machines in use
in a “phased manner”, has unwittingly shirked its duty. In fact, it
committed a grave error of judgment. Perhaps dealt a fatal blow to
Indian democracy. It should have ordered, as a caution, that till the
time this newer set of about 1300ooo voting machines is manufactured in
full and so deployed throughout India, ballot paper system would be
brought in. No such precautionary measure was decreed by the apex court.
Well,
crib all you want. But don’t cry, my dear countrymen. After all, the
same model of EVMs is yet very much in use in South Africa, Bangla Desh,
Bhutan, Nepal, Nigeria, Venezuela etc. These poor folks of the said
“non-techy” countries — millions of them — too cannot figure out as to
what the hell had, yet is happening, in their dear short-circuited
“developed” democracies. Nor will you.
Don’t worry, be happy! You are not alone “out there”.
Oh,
by the way, the somewhat notorious lawyer who had brought in this
case — of the present lot of EVMs being tamper-able and hack-able — and,
who, had successfully fought it so, forcing the Supreme Court to order
the installation of a fail-safe voting mechanism (of Voter Verifiable
Paper Audit machines replacing the susceptible earlier Electronic Voting
Machines) to ensure a free and fair electoral process in India — well,
this oh-so-very honorable fellow too has fallen silent, like a demure
maiden. This most vociferous gentleman had openly declared on social
websites, especially Twitter, that in case VVPAT machines do not get
installed in time for 2014 elections, then, there would be a
“constitutional crisis” — putting it out there like an Indian
“pehalwan”, a la WWW wrestler, that he would challenge the same in the
apex court. He had most emphatically underlined he would ensure that
either the new fail-safe voting machines or the old time-tested paper
ballot system will be put in use during this general election in India.
However, recently, when asked specifically on Twitter about this
matter — as to what this lovely man is doing or is going to do about
this impending doomsday electoral scenario — there was a deafening
silence from his side. May be owing to the fact that since the Supreme
Court judgement late last year, this self-righteous rightist has joined
the ultra-rightist political bandwagon.
The latter has
been projected by pollsters to overwhelmingly sweep these
elections — as a direct result of the doings of the monstrous public
relations firm hired from the land of the let-it-be, oops! free. This
US firm is the same that was used fruitfully by President Bush and
Hillary Clinton for their respective political campaigns. It has — let
there be no doubt about it — successfully projected its client as the
potential winner and the next numero uno in Indian politics.
What
the majority of the Indians have missed in fine print is that the
outgoing Chief Minister of the state of Rajasthan, in the last year
elections, had officially filed a complaint with the election commission
that the EVMs used in his state were pre-programmed and tampered
with — and that the same had come from the state of which this presently
hyped-up future Prime Minister of India, is the current Chief Minister.
Now, the lawyer who had gone to the dogs to awaken India and the rest
of the world about the mischief and malfeasance possible with the old
model of EVMs — and had in fact written a book on this subject — is in a
wink-wink deep-throat “smadhi”. A silence that speaks truths we dumb
billion idiots on this part of slippery earth cannot fathom. Perhaps
it’s a precursor of the things to come.
Let us hope
the jolly good hackers of this-that party screw-up each other’s
devilish, outright evil plans. In a dog eat dog political crap pit we
hapless billion creatures have to walk through every election, maybe
this time the ape sitting by the side — the wide-eyed hopeful citizen of
India — at least gets a tiny part of the apple pie this messy hacking
cat fight will leave behind, on the side lanes. Perhaps these little
crumbs will be enough for us to stay afloat. though not gloat.
In a nutshell, simply put, whosoever “out-hacks” the other, will win.
Then
again, we are an ancient civilization of more than 33, 0000000 gods and
goddesses — some civilized, others not so civil. Let’s hope one of
these fancied deities has a soft corner for us dumbos. Otherwise, we are
going to get screwed. A billion times over.
Therefore,
I made doubly sure I did not vote. I sat on my ass on voting day — not
that I don’t do so everyday. This voting day, I absolutely did. Not only
figuratively and metaphorically, but literally. I may have many buts in
life, but at least today I have a little sore, yet not so sorry a butt.
We are a fool’s paradise.
Long live the banana republic of India!
what is E-Filing? Whether this E-Filing process is a user friendly programme?
E-Filing is Electronic filing of matters in the
Registry of Supreme Court of India. Yes, E-Filing is a user friendly
programme prepared by National Informatics Centre.
Supreme Court of India,
Tilak Marg,
New Delhi-110 001 (India)
PABX NOS.23388922-24,23388942-44,
FAX NOS.23381508,23381584,23384336/23384533/23384447
supremecourt@nic.in
what is the benefit of E-Filing facility ?
Through E-Filing facilitates any Advocate-on-record
(in the Supreme Court of India) or Petitioner-in-person can file his/her
matter through internet facility, sitting anywhere in the world. It
does not require any person to come at the filing Counter in the
Registry of the Supreme Court of India for just filing his/her matter.
Prequalification - you must have prepared the Petition offline. The steps required for E-Filing process are:
1. Login: For login you need User ID and Password. (Advocate on record
are provided ID and password from the Registry. Petitioner-in-person has
to create his ID and Password by submitting his/her Identity proof.
http://citizencentre.virtualpune.com/html/supreme-court.shtml
E-FILING by Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India has introduced E-FILING. Now you can file a case in the Supreme Court through the internet and also avail of the following services:
what are the procedures/ steps required to be taken for E-Filing process ?
Filing of cases by any Advocate-on-Record or Petitioner-in-person
through internet from anywhere in the world- Electronic payment of court fee and other charges by visa/master card/debit card
- Electronic registration of defect-free cases
- Electronic communication and removal of filing defects
- Electronic filing of reply/rejoinder/applications/documents
- Service of notices and communications through e-mail
For further details, access website or contact RegistrarTele : 91-11-23388556
E-mail : shahsg@msn.com
Website : www.supremecourtofindia.nic.in
https://in.news.yahoo.com/google-denies-fixing-indian-lok-sabha-elections-105557389.html
‘FIXING’ Indian Lok Sabha elections
Computer
Business Review appeared more certain with the “How Google
search results are influencing elections” headline for its version of
the story, the Guardian reported.”…. if Google changed its course, it
would undermine people’s trust in its results and company.”
A press release put out on 13 May by the American Institute for
Behavioral Research and Technology, an independent research organisation
based in California created a furore around the topic when it released a
report headlined “Could Google have fixed the Lok Sabha elections? A
landmark new study in India shows it’s possible,” the report added.
(ANI)
Behavioral Research and Technology, an independent research organisation
based in California to review and research on the following technology: Napolean had once said that “I can face two
battalions but not two scribes”. Scribes are aware that the Supreme
Court had directed that all the EVMs must be replaced with TAMPER PROOF
machines. But the CEC had not bothered tto replace all the EVMs and went
for Lok Sabha elections. Napoleans suggested scribes have to do some
investigative journalism and expose the CEC to save this MURDER of
DEMOCRACY and STOP
‘fixing’ Indian Lok Sabha elections
SUB:An Appeal to do research on all Electronic
Voting Machines those were to be replaced with Tamper proof machines as
per the directives of Supreme court of India
Appeal
to the Computer Business Review and the American Institute for
Behavioral Research and Technology, an independent research organisation
based in California to review and research on the following technology:
Napolean
had once said that “I can face two battalions but not two scribes”.
Scribes are aware that the Supreme Court had directed that all the EVMs
must be replaced with TAMPER PROOF machines. But the CEC had not
bothered tto replace all the EVMs and went for Lok Sabha elections.
Napoleans suggested scribes have to do some investigative journalism and
expose the CEC to save this MURDER of DEMOCRACY and STOP
‘fixing’ Indian Lok Sabha elections.
With reference to
https://in.news.yahoo.com/google-denies-fixing-indian-lok-sabha-elections-105557389.html
‘FIXING’ Indian Lok Sabha elections
Computer
Business Review appeared more certain with the “How Google search
results are influencing elections” headline for its version of the
story, the Guardian reported.”…. if Google changed its course, it
would undermine people’s trust in its results and company.”
A
press release put out on 13 May by the American Institute for Behavioral
Research and Technology, an independent research organisation based in
California created a furore around the topic when it released a report
headlined “Could Google have fixed the Lok Sabha elections? A landmark
new study in India shows it’s possible,” the report added. (ANI)
http://aibrt.org/index.php/about
The American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology
is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization based in Vista,
California, USA, which promotes and conducts research that has the
potential to increase the well-being and functioning of people
worldwide. It currently has ongoing research projects in eleven
different topic areas.
Mission
The
mission of the American Institute for Behavioral Research and
Technology is to conduct, promote, and advance research on behavior that
has the potential to improve the human condition, to develop possible
applications of such research, and to educate the public about both this
research and its applications. It pursues this mission by conducting
relevant research, presenting such research at scientific conferences,
publishing reports of such research in both scientific and popular
publications, developing possible applications of such research and
presenting and publishing reports of such applications, and keeping the
public informed about relevant research and applications through
classes, workshops, Internet activities, videos, and a variety of other
publishing and media activities.
http://mattersindia.com/google-search-threatens-democracy-study/
Google Search threatens democracy: Study
Published: 9:31 am, May 15, 2014 Story By:
Washington: As India eagerly awaits the outcome of the just concluded
general elections, a study by an American institute says the real
threat to democracy comes from an unexpected corner: Google Search.
Google search results can pose a real threat to democracy as it could
swing a close election by influencing the voting preferences of
undecided voters, wars the American Institute for Behavioral Research
and Technology in California that studied more than 2,000 undecided
voters throughout India.
The study conducted in recent weeks suggests that Google has the
power to fix elections “without anyone being the wiser.” This is
possible because of the power that search rankings have on people’s
opinions, the researchers said.
Studies show that the higher the rank, the more people trust the
result, which is why companies are spending billions now to push their
products higher.
“So could highly-ranked search results that make Arvind Kejriwal look
better than Narendra Modi drive votes to Kejriwal?” the researchers set
out to determine, The Times of India reported.
In research conducted last year in the US, researchers found that
search rankings biased in favor of a candidate could push the
preferences of undecided voters towards that candidate by 15 percent or
more.
The researchers have shown that votes can easily be pushed toward one
candidate or another by about 12 percent — double that amount in some
demographic groups — enough to determine the outcomes of many close
races.
“This is a very serious matter — a real threat to democracy,” said Dr
Robert Epstein, lead researcher in the study and Senior Research
Psychologist at the American institute.
“If two candidates were both trying to push their rankings higher,
they would be competing, and that’s fine. But if Google, which has a
monopoly on search in India, were to favor one candidate, it could
easily put that candidate in office by manipulating search rankings, and
no one could counter what they were doing.
“Even if without human intervention the company’s search algorithm
favored one candidate, thousands of votes would still be driven to that
candidate,” said Epstein.
In the new study, participants were randomly assigned to groups in
which search rankings favored either Kejriwal, Rahul Gandhi, or Modi.
Real search rankings and web pages were used, and people were asked
to research all the candidates just as they would on Google. The only
difference between the groups was the order in which the search results
were displayed.
The new study suggests that biased search rankings can be used to fix
the outcome of races in India in which the winner is projected to win
by a margin up to 2.9 percent.
This can be done just by influencing undecided voters who use the
internet — a small but important group of voters that is sure to grow in
coming years, researchers said.
Worldwide, the researchers said, upwards of 25 percent of national elections are won by margins under 3 percent.
The study also shows that certain demographic groups are especially vulnerable.
The voting preferences of 19 percent of women over 35 were shifted in
the study, as were the voting preferences of 18 percent of voters who
were unemployed.
“Of particular concern is the fact that 99 percent of the people in
our study seemed to be unaware that the search rankings they saw were
biased. That means Google has the power to manipulate elections without
anyone suspecting they’re doing so,” said Epstein.
“To prevent undue influence, election-related search rankings need to
be regulated and monitored, as well as subjected to equal-time rules,”
Epstein said.
https://www.facebook.com/cbronline
https://in.news.yahoo.com/google-denies-fixing-indian-lok-sabha-elections-105557389.html
‘FIXING’ Indian Lok Sabha elections
‘FIXING’ Indian Lok Sabha elections
Computer Business Review appeared more certain with the “How Google search results are influencing elections” headline
for its version of the story, the Guardian reported.”…. if Google
changed its course, it would undermine people’s trust in its results and
company.”
A press release put out on 13 May by the American
Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, an independent
research organisation based in California created a furore around the
topic when it released a report headlined “Could Google have fixed the
Lok Sabha elections? A landmark new study in India shows it’s possible,”
the report added. (ANI)
Let us appeal to the Computer Business
Review and the American Institute for Behavioral Research and
Technology, an independent research organisation based in California to
review and research on the following technology:
Napolean
had once said that “I can face two battalions but not two scribes”.
Scribes are aware that the Supreme Court had directed that all the EVMs
must be replaced with TAMPER PROOF machines. But the CEC had not
bothered tto replace all the EVMs and went for Lok Sabha elections.
Napoleans suggested scribes have to do some investigative journalism and
expose the CEC to save this MURDER of DEMOCRACY and STOP
‘fixing’ Indian Lok Sabha elections.
The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 was enacted by the Parliament of India (Act 33 of 1989), to prevent atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The Act is popularly known as POA, the SC/ST Act, the Prevention of Atrocities Act, or simply the Atrocities Act.
Article 17 of Indian Constitution seeks to abolish ‘untouchability’
and to forbid all such practices. It is basically a “statement of
principle” that needs to be made operational with the ostensible
objective to remove humiliation and multifaceted harassments meted to
the Dalits and to ensure their fundamental and socio-economic,
political, and cultural rights.
Historical sketch
In modern times, atrocities against the Scheduled Castes can be traced
back to the 19th century in parts of India when the systemic practice of
‘untouchability’ began to be challenged by the ‘Untouchables’. A
Committee which toured British India in the 1920s to review the working
of the Government of India Act 1919 noted that many atrocities were
being committed during those days against the ‘Untouchables’, but were
going unnoticed and unpunished because witness would not come forward to
give evidence. Dr Ambedkar, then MLC of Bombay, cited some early
instances of atrocities against Dalits in his submission to the Indian
Statutory Commission (Simon Commission) on behalf of the Bahishkrita
Hitakarini Sabha on 29 May 1928.
Necessity
Atrocities rooted in caste system
A study conducted by the National Commission for SCs and STs in 1990 on Atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: Causes and Remedies
pointed out various causal factors for atrocities: land disputes; land
alienation; bonded labour; indebtedness; non-payment of minimum wages;
caste prejudice and practice of untouchability; political factions on
caste lines; refusal to perform traditional works such as digging burial
pits, arranging cremations, removing carcasses of dead animals and
beating drums; etc. The deep root for such atrocities is traceable to
the caste system, which “encompasses a complete ordering of social
groups on the basis of the so-called ritual purity. A person is
considered a member of the caste into which s/he is born and remains
within that caste until death….”[5]
Considered ritually impure, SCs have been physically and socially
excluded from mainstream society, denied basic resources and services,
and discriminated against in all areas of life. Accordingly, they face
various forms of exploitation, insults and violence, as well as
degrading practices of untouchability. The Scheduled Tribes were equally
exploited on grounds of not falling within the caste system but having a
distinct culture and worldview of their own. “Women belonging to these
castes and tribes bore double burden. They were exploited by caste and
gender, and were vulnerable to and powerless against sexual
exploitation.”[6]
Continuing widespread prevalence
Despite the right to non-discrimination on the basis of race or caste
enshrined in Article 15 of the Indian Constitution, discrimination
against SCs and STs is pervasive. Though abolished and forbidden by
Article 17, the practice of ‘untouchability’ persists due to its
systemic character. Hence, the Indian Parliament enacted the
Untouchability Offences Act 1955, which underwent amendment and renaming
in 1976 to become the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act. Under this
Act, ‘untouchability’ as a result of religious and social disabilities
was made punishable. However, due to legal loopholes, the levels of
punishments being less punitive as compared to those of the IPC, and the
law and order machinery being neither professionally trained nor
socially inclined to implement such social legislation, a more
comprehensive and more punitive Act was required to protect SCs and STs
from violence committed by other communities. This gave rise to the
SC/ST (PoA) Act 1989.
Objectives
The basic objective and purpose of this more comprehensive and more
punitive piece of legislation was sharply enunciated when the Bill was
introduced in the Lok Sabha:
- “Despite various measures to improve the socio-economic
conditions of the SCs and STs, they remain vulnerable… They have, in
several brutal incidents, been deprived of their life and property…
Because of the awareness created… through spread of education, etc.,
when they assert their rights and resist practices of untouchability
against them or demand statutory minimum wages or refuse to do any
bonded and forced labour, the vested interests try to cow them down and
terrorise them. When the SCs and STs try to preserve their self-respect
or honour of their women, they become irritants for the dominant and the
mighty…
- Under the circumstances, the existing laws like the Protection of
Civil Rights Act 1955 and the normal provisions of the Indian Penal
Code have been found to be inadequate to check and deter crimes against
them committed by non-SCs and non-STs… It is considered necessary that
not only the term ‘atrocity’ should be defined, but also stringent
measures should be introduced to provide for higher punishment for
committing such atrocities. It is also proposed to enjoin on the States
and Union Territories to take specific preventive and punitive measures
to protect SCs and STs from being victimized and, where atrocities are
committed, to provide adequate relief and assistance to rehabilitate
them.”[7]
The objectives of the Act, therefore, very clearly emphasise the
intention of the Indian state to deliver justice to SC/ST communities
through affirmative action in order to enable them to live in society
with dignity and self-esteem and without fear, violence or suppression
from the dominant castes.[8]
The Supreme Court of India too reiterated the significance and importance of the Act:[9]
- “The offences of atrocities are committed to humiliate and
subjugate the SCs and STs with a view to keep them in a state of
servitude. Hence, they constitute a separate class of offences and
cannot be compared with offences under the Indian Penal Code.”
Salient features
The provisions of SC/ST Act and Rules can be divided into three
different categories, covering a variety of issues related to atrocities
against SC/ST people and their position in society.
- The first category contains provisions of criminal law. It
establishes criminal liability for a number of specifically defined
atrocities, and extends the scope of certain categories of penalizations
given in the Indian Penal Code (IPC). - The second category contains provisions for relief and compensation for victims of atrocities.
- The third category contains provisions that establish special authorities for the implementation and monitoring of the Act.
The salient features of the Act are
- Creation of new types of offences not in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or in the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 (PCRA).
- Commission of offences only by specified persons (atrocities can be
committed only by non-SCs and non-STs on members of the SC or ST
communities. Crimes among SCs and STs or between STs and SCs do not come
under the purview of this Act). - Defines various types of atrocities against SCs/STs (Section 3(1)i to xv and 3(2)i to vii).
- Prescribes stringent punishment for such atrocities (Section 3(1)i to xv and 3(2)i to vii).
- Enhanced punishment for some offences (Section 3(2)i to vii, 5).
- Enhanced minimum punishment for public servants (Section 3(2)vii).
- Punishment for neglect of duties by a public servant(Section 4).
- Attachment and forfeiture of property (Section 7).
- Externment of potential offenders (Section 10(1), 10(3), 10(3)).
- Creation of Special Courts (Section 14).
- Appointment of Special Public Prosecutors (Section 15).
- Empowers the government to impose collective fines (Section 16).
- Cancellation of arms licences in the areas identified where an
atrocity may take place or has taken place (Rule 3iii) and seize all
illegal fire arms (Rule 3iv). - Grant arms licences to SCs and STs (Rule 3v).
- Denial of anticipatory bail (Section 18).
- Denial of probation to convict (Section 19).
- Provides compensation, relief and rehabilitation for victims of
atrocities or their legal heirs (Section 17(3), 21(2)iii, Rule 11,
12(4)). - Identification of atrocity prone areas (Section 17(1), 21(2)vii, Rule 3(1)).
- Setting up deterrents to avoid committing of atrocities on the SCs amongst others (Rule 3i to 3xi).
- Setting up a mandatory, periodic monitoring system at different levels (Section 21(2)v):
-
-
- District level (Rule 3xi, 4(2), 4(4), 17).
- State level (8xi, 14, 16, 18).
- National level (Section 21(2), 21(3), 21(4)).
-
Together with the rules, it provides a framework for monitoring the
state response to the atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes. According to the Act and Rules, there are to be monthly reports
(from the District Magistrates), quarterly review meetings at the
district level by the District Monitoring and Vigilance Committee (DVMC)
and half yearly reviews by a 25 member State Monitoring and Vigilance
Committee (SVMC) the chaired by the Chief Minister. The performance of
every Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) will also have to be reviewed by
the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) every quarter. Annual reports
have to be sent to the central government by 31 March every year.
The Act and Rules are a potent mechanism and precision instruments
that can be used in tandem with the Right To Information (RTI) Act 2005
to motivate the state to hold the mandatory meetings and enforce
compliance. A Human Rights Defenders Monitoring Calendar has been developed from the Act and rules to help human rights defenders, and the functions and duties of the monitoring authorities (the SVMC and DVMC).
Defining ‘atrocity’
The term ‘atrocity’ was not defined until this Act was passed by the
Parliament in 1989. In legal parlance, the Act understands the term to
mean an offence punishable under sections 3(1) and 3(2).
In specific terms:
- Atrocity is “an expression commonly used to refer to crimes against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in India”.
- It “denotes the quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane, whereas the term ‘crime’ relates to an act punishable by law”.
- It implies “any offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) committed
against SCs by non-SC persons, or against STs by non-ST persons. Caste
consideration as a motive is not necessary to make such an offence in
case of atrocity”. - It signifies “crimes which have ingredients of infliction of
suffering in one form or the other that should be included for
reporting”. This is based on the assumption that “where the victims of
crime are members of Scheduled Castes and the offenders do not belong to
Scheduled Castes caste considerations are really the root cause of the
crime, even though caste considerations may not be the vivid and minimum
motive for the crime”.
The Act lists 22 offences relating to various patterns of behaviours
inflicting criminal offences for shattering the self-respect and esteem
of SCs and STs, denial of economic, democratic and social rights,
discrimination, exploitation and abuse of the legal process, etc.
Section 3 of the Act lists the criminal offences and the punishments. It contains:
- 19 offences in their own right (Section 3(1) contains 15 subsections
with an equal number of offences. Section 3(2) contains four
subsections with offences) - two derived offences (sections 3(2)(vi) and 3(2)(vii)). The derived
offences are based on the offences given in the SC/ST Act. They only
come in the picture provided that another offence under the SC/ST Act
has been committed. - one subsection that increases the punishment for certain offences under the IPC (Section 3(2)(v)).
These protections can be broadly divided into protection from
- social disabilities (denial of access to certain places and to use
customary passage and to get water from any spring, reservoir or any
other source). - personal atrocities (forceful drinking or eating of inedible or
obnoxious substance, against stripping, outrage of modesty, sexual
exploitation, injury or annoyance). - atrocities affecting properties (land, residential premises, existing properties).
- malicious prosecution.
- political disabilities.
- economic exploitation.
The common denominator of the offences is that criminal liability can
only be established if the offence is committed by a person who is not a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe against a person who belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe.
Special Courts
For speedy trial, Section 14 of the Act provides for a Court of
Session to be a Special Court to try offences under this Act in each
district. Rule 13(i) mandates that the judge in a special court be
sensitive with right aptitude and understanding of the problems of the
SCs and STs.
However, that is seldom the case. Most states have declared a court
as a ’special court’. The hitch is that they are designated courts (as
opposed to exclusive special courts) and so have to hear many other
cases too. Consequently, at any time about 80% of the cases are pending[14]—defeating the very purpose of having special courts in the first place.
Special Court Justice Ramaswamy observed in the case of State of Karnataka v. Ingale[15]
that more than seventy-five percent of the cases brought under the
SC/ST Act end in acquittal at all levels. The situation has not improved
much since 1992 according to the figures given by the 2002 Annual
Report dealing with SC/ST Act (of the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment)[16]
Of the total cases filed in 2002 only 21.72% were disposed of, and, of
those, a mere 2.31% ended in conviction. The number of acquittals is 6
times more than the number of convictions and more than 70 percent of
the cases are still pending.[17]
Inaugurating a two-day annual conference of State Ministers of
Welfare/Social Justice, 8 Sept 2009, Prime Minister Singh expressed
’shock’ that the conviction rate of cases of atrocities against the
SC/STs is less than 30% against the average of 42% for all cognisable
offences under the Indian Penal Code.[18]
Karnataka has only 8 Special courts, though 15 of 30 districts are
declared ‘atrocity prone’. Overall conviction rates remain at or below
5%. Even the few special courts seem to be biased. In 2010, of the 101
cases disposed of in the Tumkur special court, not one was convicted.
Gulbarga, another atrocity prone district had a conviction rate of just
2%. 7 districts had a conviction rate of 0% in 2010.[19]
Investigation
According to Rule 7(1)[20]
investigation of an offence committed under the SC/ST Act cannot be
investigated by an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent
of Police (DSP).
Various High Courts have vitiated the trail based on the above rule and have improperly set aside the order of conviction.[21]
The rule was to ensure that the investigations were of high quality,
and the assumption was that senior officials would not be as biased, nor
as vulnerable to other pressures, as those in the lower rungs of the
police force. But the judges in their wisdom have allowed perpetrators
to go free based on this legal fig leaf.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court, in D. Ramlinga Reddy v. State of AP,[22]
took the position that provisions of Rule 7 are mandatory and held that
investigation under the SC/S (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has to be
carried out by only an officer not below the rank of DSP. An
investigation carried out and charge sheet filed by an incompetent
officer is more than likely to be quashed. Similarly, the Madras High
Court in M. Kathiresam v. State of Tamil Nadu[23]
held that investigation conducted by an officer other than a DSP is
improper and bad in law and proceedings based on such an investigation
are required to be quashed. The Courts without taking into consideration
the inadequacies of the State, have been punishing SC/STs (the victims)
for the same. Shri Pravin Rashtrapal, Member of Parliament rightly
pointed out that there are insufficient officers at that level.[24] His statement is supported by the Annual Report of 2005-2006 of Ministry of Home Affairs.[25]
Of the total posts sanctioned by the government under Indian Police
Service (IPS) more than 15 percent of the posts are vacant. This
basically means that there is one IPS officer for 77,000 SC/STs.33
In the case of Karnataka, there were no officers of the required rank
in three districts, as admitted by the government at the State
Vigilance and Monitoring Committee (SVMC) in September 2010.[26]
Though officers of higher rank can conduct the investigation (the Act
only says ‘at least of rank’), in practice they seldom do.
Compensation
Atrocities often take place when persons belonging to the SC
community do not fulfill their ‘caste functions’ by doing ritually
prescribed ‘unclean’ work or break the caste boundaries such as sitting
in the bus or wearing a turban—often the preserve of the dominant
castes. Atrocities are often a form of ‘collective’ punishment for
daring to have even some semblance of non-dependence which is termed as
‘prosperous’, and the atrocity is to bring them back into the situation
of total dependence and servitude. The state therefore has the duty to
help the community back on its feet.
In fact, a part of the reason why atrocities are committed is
economic activity. In my experience, I have seen that in some areas, the
Scheduled Caste or the Scheduled Tribe person is prosperous. My
knowledge is mostly about the Scheduled Caste, not about the Scheduled
Tribe. It is because of the economic activity, because of the
enterprise, there are areas where the Scheduled Caste people have also
become prosperous. The Scheduled Caste people are able to build brick
and stone houses. The Scheduled Caste people are able to acquire
vehicles. The Scheduled Caste people are able to dress better, send
their children to better schools. One of the reasons why atrocities take
place in those places is to cripple them economically. Every riot,
every arson case cripples them economically. Therefore, it is important
that the State must immediately rush in social and economic measures for
the rehabilitation of those who have suffered through these atrocities.[27]
The government has prescribed a schedule for compensation[28]
under Rule 12.(4)) as Annexure 1 entitled Norms for Relief Amount. This
is periodically updated. The amendment of 23 December 2011 is available
here
Record
As ‘police’ and ‘public order’ are state subjects, primary
responsibility for prevention of atrocities and maintenance of law and
order rests with the State Governments. A responsive police
administration has always been recognized as an essential requirement in
any society that seeks to take care of its citizens. Such responsive
administration is essential for prevention of atrocities likely to be
inflicted upon SCs and STs by unscrupulous non-SC/ST elements.
Section 21(1) and (2) of SC/ST (POA) Act, 1989 stipulate that the
State Government shall take all such measures as may be necessary for
its effective implementation. However despite the Act and Rules, the
situation has not changed much. The incidence of atrocities is actually
increasing, and the implementation of the law leaves much to be desired
as this statement of the Union Minister for Home Affairs shows:
“Madam, I must concede that the statistics do not reflect any
decline in the atrocities. On the contrary, the information compiled by
the Crime Records Bureau shows that the number of cases registered of
atrocities against the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes is, in
fact, on the rise. I have the numbers from 2006 to 2008, subsequent
years are being compiled. Take for example the case of the Scheduled
Castes. The number of cases of atrocities against the Scheduled Castes
registered in 2006 was 26,665. That itself is an understatement. Many of
the cases are simply not registered. In 2007, it was 29,825 and in 2008
it was 33,365. So, this clearly shows the rise in trend.
I can make one or two deductions from this.
- Firstly that there is no let up in the atrocities committed on the Scheduled Castes.
- The other inference one can make is, perhaps, because of the
pressure that is put on the State Governments by the Central Government,
by public opinion and by NGOs, now the States are showing greater
willingness to deal with the problem. Therefore, more cases are being
registered.
[…]
We cannot be happy about the fact that approximately 33,000 cases
are being registered as atrocities against Scheduled Castes in one year.
What makes it even more disturbing is that while so many cases are
registered, the conviction rate hovers around 30%. What makes it doubly
painful is that there is rise in atrocities, but when you try to
prosecute and convict, the conviction rate is only 30%. It was 28%,
31.4% and 32%. Not only are acquittals very high; pendency is about 80%. […]
I am afraid that the disposal of the cases is low; the rate of
conviction is low. Therefore, it is fair to conclude that the feeling
amongst the Scheduled Castes and the Schedule Tribes that all these laws
and all these statements, all these pronouncements have really not
brought any relief to them. That feeling is running high and I cannot
but say that feeling is justified.”[14] (p143,144 of the printed text).
23 States have set up SC/ST Protection Cells. Nodal Officers have been appointed in 28 States.[3]
Though the Act and rules are stringent, it is not a deterrent, as the
Minister for Home Affairs P Chidambaram admitted in the Lok Sabha,
referring to the Central Committee monitoring the implementation of the
Act:
A committee under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Social
Justice was set up after the SCs and STs (PoA), 1989 was passed. That
Committee has met, so far, 10 times. The situation in 25 States and 4
Union Territories were reviewed. That committee has expressed that the
most important areas of concern are the following five:
- firstly, the high rate of acquittal;
- secondly, the high rate of pendency of cases and very low rate of disposal;
- thirdly, inadequate use of the preventive provisions of the Act,
while the punitive provisions are invoked and FIR is registered,
preventive provisions are rarely invoked; - fourthly, that the committees and other mechanisms provided in the Act have virtually not been put to use; and fifthly,
- the Act itself may not be deterrent, perhaps it is not being as deterrent as we thought it could be.[14]
Drawbacks and lacunae
Bias
Going through the Indian judicial system is degrading for any Dalit
because of the still existing biases of the court judges. One example is
the conduct of an Allahabad High Court judge who had his chambers
“purified” with water from the ‘ganga jal’ because a Dalit judge had
previously sat in that chamber before him.[29] Another example is the case of State of Karnataka v. Ingale.[15]
The State of Karnataka had charged five individuals with violating the
SC/ST Act. At trial, four witnesses testified that the defendants had
threatened Dalits with a gun to stop them from taking water from a well.
The defendants told the Dalits that they had no right to take water,
because they were `untouchables’. The trial judge convicted all of the
defendants. On appeal, the Additional Sessions judge confirmed the
conviction of three defendants but acquitted two. On further appeal to
the High Court, the judge acquitted all the defendants after rejecting
the testimony of the four Dalit witnesses. The Dalits finally got relief
from the Supreme Court.
Perhaps the most important bias (re implementation of this Act) is
that there is little done to prevent atrocities. Most of the reports are
of what is done after an atrocity has been committed. Few states have
preventive measures in place. The ‘relief’ provided is a pittance and
the confidence of the community is seldom rebuilt.
For the opponents of social justice, the low conviction rates are
evidence of misuse of the Act by the SCs and STs to threaten and
blackmail other communities. Actual data on such misuse is not
available. However, the acquittal rates are abnormally high, as
acknowledged by the prime minister and home minister (quoted above).
There is also a high rate of FIRs rejected as being ‘false’ by the
police. In Karnataka the rejection rate at the police station level (the
‘B’ report that classifies a case as false) was 77% of total cases
disposed off in 2009[30]—so
much so that it became a topic for discussion in the SVMC. There were
accusations by the top police officers and the top legal officers of the
state, in the presence of the chief minister, other ministers and top officials, that the other was not doing their duty.[31]
Legal system
The legal regime is fraught with contradictions. While the legal text
is explicit in seeking remedies, the implementation of the text appears
to evade actual performance. Laws and legal processes are not
self-executing; they depend on the administrative structure and the
judiciary with the anticipation that the social attitudes are driven by
notions of equity, social justice and fair play.[32]
However, the increasingly indifferent responses of those involved in
the implementation of laws protecting the weak, the oppressed and the
socially disadvantaged have persisted over the years and the system has
failed to provide for self-correction. The problem is that the victims
of atrocities suffer not only bodily and mental pain but also feelings
of insecurity and social avoidance which is not present for the victims
of other crimes. If the judge delegated to protect them shows
indifference, it further aggravates their already vulnerable position.
Rehabilitation
According to the preamble of the SC/ST Act, it is an Act to prevent
the commission of offences of atrocities against SC/STs, to provide for
Special Courts for the trial of such offences and for the relief and
rehabilitation of the victims of such offences. The Madhya Pradesh High
Court also had the same view and observed in the case of Dr. Ram Krishna
Balothia v. Union of India[33]
that the entire scheme of the SC/ST Act is to provide protection to the
members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and to provide for
Special Court and speedy trial of the offences. The Act contains
affirmative measures to weed out the root cause of atrocities, which has
denied SCs and STs basic civil rights. The Act has addressed the
problem the regarding the dispensation of justice, but what the failed
to deal with is the problem of ‘rehabilitation’. There is mention of
rehabilitation under Section 21(2)(iii), but there are no provision
addressing the same. As it has been stated earlier that victims of
atrocities are on a different level when compared to victims of other
crimes, hence there should be special provision for the same. According
to the report submitted by the National Commission for Review and
Working of the Constitution,[34]
victims of atrocities and their families should be provided with full
financial and any other support to make them economically self-reliant
without their having to seek wage employment from their very oppressors
or classes of oppressors. Also it would be the duty of the state to
immediately take over the educational needs of the children of such
victims and provide for the cost of their food and maintenance.
SCs and STs constitute 68% of the total rural population. According
to the 1991 agricultural census a large number of SCs and STs are
marginal farmers compared to the other sections of the society and
because of this the number of cultivators are going down. In other
words, the landlessness is increasing at a faster rate among SCs and
STs. At the same time, the number of SC and ST workers as agricultural
labourer is increasing at a faster rate when compared to other sections
of the society. This basically implies that after losing their land
holdings, SC and ST cultivators are becoming agriculture labourers. Loss
of land, on the one hand, is caused by atrocities making them more
vulnerable. This in turn fuels and promotes continuance of atrocities
and untouchability.
Marginalisation is one of the worst forms of oppression.[citation needed]
It expels a whole category of people from useful participation in the
society and therefore potentially subjected to material deprivation and
this could even lead to extermination. Moreover, this leads to the state
of powerlessness which perhaps is best described negatively; the
powerless lack authority, status and a sense of self.[35] Moreover, every right has three types of duties[citation needed]—duty to
- Avoid deprivation.
- Protect from deprivation.
- Aid the deprived.
Though the SC/ST Act does cover these duties, and its implementation
is admittedly uneven, it is found wanting most in the third: duty to aid
the deprived. One possible reason could be that the State has to work
through its officials who are drawn from the same oppressive social
strata. Though the Act does mention that officers and other staff
appointed in an area prone to atrocity shall have the right aptitude and
understanding of the problems of the SCs and STs (Rule 13(1))
in practice, these officials often collude with their caste brethren
and even file counter-cases against the victims or their family members.[36]
This means, in addition to the perpetrators getting away with the
original crime, free to further intimidate the victims, the victims are
left helpless—denied the government compensation and assistance to
rebuild their life. They have to go back to the same perpetrator caste
for their livelihood or daily wage labour. Hence, it is necessary to
make the SCs and STs self-dependent.
Lack of awareness
The statement of object and reason of the SC/ST Act clearly reveals
that the Act, in its letter and spirit, desires that Dalits lead a
dignified life. However, even after 16 years of its existence in the
statute book, it has not shown its desired effect.
The majority of the beneficiaries of this Act are unaware of the
legitimate claims of leading a dignified way of life or are unwilling to
enforce it intensively. Even the Police, prosecutors and judicial
officers are unaware of this Act as was pointed out by Calcutta High
Court in the case of M.C. Prasannan v. State of West Bengal.[37]
Misapplication of the Act by police and the courts aggravates the problem ultimately leads to acquittals.[38]
Some atrocities not covered
Social and economic boycott and blackmail are widespread. In view of
the fact that the main perpetrators of the crime sometimes co-opt a few
SC/STs with them and take advantage of local differences among the
SC/STs and sometimes they promote and engineer crimes but get them
executed by some members of SC/STs, the Act should be suitably amended
to bring such crimes and atrocities within the purview of the definition
of atrocities under the Act.[34]
Likewise, the Special Courts established under Section 14 of the Act
are required to follow the committal procedure under Cr.P.C. Such an
interpretation prevents the speedy trial envisaged under the Act. The
absence of adequate special courts has resulted in slow disposal of
atrocity cases and a huge backlog.
Dalits in other religions not covered
This Act is applicable only for those communities that are in the
government Schedule Caste or Schedule Tribe lists. Those who suffer from
caste based discrimination (CBD) but are left out of the government
list—the Dalits—(mainly
those who profess Christianity or Islam, but even others who are not on
the list due to mis-classification) do not come under its purview. This
makes Dalits
who have exercised their freedom of religion more vulnerable (if they
or their ancestors changed their religion) or subject to administrative
whims and fancies (if they profess to be Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist).
Empowering provisions
Migration
Under constitutional provisions, a caste or tribe is notified with
reference to a State or Union territory. Hence a person born in state/UT
gets certificate of SC/ST if his/her father belongs to specified
caste/tribe in that state as SC/ST. On migration to another state, they
lose their SC/ST status for affirmative actions, i.e. benefit of
admission in educational institutes, reservation in government
employment etc. but the protection accorded under this Act stays.[citation needed]
Once a person is notified as SC/ST in any state/UT, they are protected
under the SCs and STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 throughout
the country, irrespective of whether the particular caste or tribe is
notified in the state/UT where the offence is committed.
Legal aid
Legal aid is available for all victims regardless of financial status. For all others legal aid depends on the financial status.
Civil society response
Monitoring implementation
Comprehensive tools have been developed to monitor the implementation of the Act for each case, and at the district and state levels.
Many civil society organisations (CSOs) started using this Act to
provide some relief to the victims almost immediately. A few Dalit and
human rights organizations took to monitoring violence against the
SC&ST communities, documenting them, publicizing them and also
monitoring the use of the Act in dealing with these crimes. One of the
first to monitor the implementation of this Act was Sakshi
in Andhra Pradesh. However, that was restricted to monitoring up to the
judicial process—up to the filing of the First Information Report (FIR)
in the police station. Special attention was given to ensure that the
filing of the First Information Report (FIR) included sections of the
POA.
The full monitoring of the Act by CSOs is a later phenomenon[39]
and has not matured in that civil society reports on implementation of
the Act (shadow reports to the ones mandated by the Act section 21(4))
are yet to be done.
Annual reports by Citizen’s monitoring committees have been done in Karnataka for 2009 (English), 2010 (English and Kannada) and a combined report for 2011 and 2012 (in English and Kannada(with monitoring tools))
auditing the performance of the State, including the bureaucracy,
judicial system, police and monitoring mechanisms (DVMCs and SVMC).
However, atrocities in the state still continue to rise, and convictions
remain low.
Filing PILs for implementation
Some organizations also used the provisions of the Public Interest
Litigations (PIL) to demand better implementation under the Act at High
Court level and National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) in the Supreme Court of India.
National coalition to strengthen the Act
On the 20th anniversary of its enactment, CSOs came together from
across the country to review its implementation and formed a ‘National
Coalition for Strengthening SC & ST Prevention of Atrocities Act’
that took stock of the implementation of the Act in a ‘report card’,
analysed the lacunae and suggested a set of amendments for improving
the implementation. State specific ‘fact sheets’ were also made
available for Madhya Pradesh and Bihar
Many important areas such as social and economic boycotts, causing
hurt, destruction of property, defining the SC communities to include
those who profess a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and
better monitoring mechanisms were identified.
The initial organisations comprising the National Coalition are Adharshila, Alternative Forum for Dalit Liberation, AP Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union, All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch, Ambedkar Lohiya Vichar Manch, Anhad, CBCI Commission for SC/ST/BC, Centre for Dalit Rights, Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion, Centre for Mountain Dalit Rights Himachal Pradesh, Centre for Social Justice, Centre for Social Justice & Development, CSRD-People Monitoring Committee, Cornerstone, Dalit Aarthik Adhikar Aandolan, Dalit Action Group, Dalit Dasta Virodhi Manch, Dalit Foundation,
Dalit Movement for Human Rights and Dignity, Dalit Nyay Andolan, Dalit
Samanway, Development Initiative, Dr. Ambedkar Agriculture Development
and Research Institution, Dr. Ambedkar Excellence Education and Public
Welfare Institution Samiti, Dynamic Action Group, Evidence, Human Rights Alert, Human Rights Forum for Dalit Liberation-Karnataka, Human Rights Forum for Dalit Liberation-TN, Human Rights Foundation, Human Rights Law Network, Indian Alliance for Child Rights, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, Indraprastha Public Affairs Centre, Insaaf Dilao Committee, Jana Vikas–Orissa, Jan Sahas, Janvikas, Gujarat, Jeevika, Karnataka Dalit Mahila Vedike (KDMV), Multiple Action Research Group, NCCI Commission on Dalits, Narigunjan, National Action Forum for Social Justice, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), National Confederation of Dalit Organizations (NACDOR), National Council of Dalit Christians, National Dalit Election Watch, National Dalit Forum, National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ), National Federation for Dalit Land Rights Movements, National Federation for Dalit Women, Navsarjan Trust, People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, People’s Action for Rural Awakening, People’s Watch–Tamil Nadu, Praxis–Institute for Participatory Practices, SC/ST Employees Association (AP Bhawan), Safai Karmachari Andolan, SAKSHI – Human Rights Watch, Sasvika, Social Action For Advocacy & Research (SAFAR), Social Awareness Society for Youth (SASY), Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), SICHREM, VICALP, Working Group for Human Rights in India and UN, YUVA.
Continuous monitoring
Many organisations continue to monitor the implementation of the Act, and bring out state level reports.
- Himachal Pradesh: Monitoring by Centre for Mountain Dalit Rights
- Karnataka: Monitoring by Committee Monitoring and
Strengthening the POA in Karnataka (CMASK) led by the Karnataka Dalit
Mahilla Vedike (KDMV). State reports are available on the status of
implementation during 2009 (English), 2010 (English and Kannada) and a combined report for 2011 and 2012 (in English and Kannada (with monitoring tools)). Also available in Kannada is the monitoring calendar . - Tamil Nadu: monitoring by SASY.
SCs and STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance 2014 (No 1 of 2014)
The Amendment Ordinance 2014
was signed by the president on 4 March 2014 and came into force
immediately. (Since it is an ordinance, it will need to be ratified by
(the next) parliament within six (6) months or it will lapse).
The key features of the ordinance are
- Addition of following new category of offences to the existing 19
punishable offences. In addition to the 19 offences listed in the Act,
following new offences proposed. To cite a few: tonsuring of head,
moustache, or similar acts which are derogatory to the dignity of Dalits
and Adivasis; garlanding with chappals; denying access to irrigation
facilities or forest rights ; dispose or carry human or animal
carcasses, or to dig graves; using or permitting manual scavenging;
dedicating Dalit women as devadasi; abusing in caste name; perpetrating
witchcraft atrocities; imposing social or economic boycott; preventing
Dalit and Adivasi candidates filing of nomination to contest elections;
hurting the modesty of Dalit/Adivasi woman by removing her garments;
forcing to leave house , village or residence; defiling objects sacred
to SCs and STs; touching a women or uses words, acts or gestures of a
sexual nature against women. - Addition of IPC offences attracting committed against Dalits or
Adivasis as punishable offences under the POA Act. Presently, only those
offences listed in IPC as attracting punishment of 10 years or more and
committed on Dalits/ Adivasis are accepted as offences falling under
the POA Act. A number of commonly committed offences (hurt, grievous
hurt, intimidation, kidnapping etc.) are excluded from the Act. This
provides loopholes for the perpetrators of crime to escape from being
punished for these commonly committed crimes. Therefore a Schedule of
list of IPC offences is provided in the amended act. - Establishment of Exclusive Special Courts and Special Public
Prosecutors to exclusively try the offences falling under the POA Act to
enable speedy and expeditious disposal of cases. Presently, Special
Courts and Public Prosecutors also deal with other cases besides
atrocity cases. Consequently, cases are kept pending for long time. Thus
victims are denied justice or speedy justice. Establishment of an
Exclusive Special Court for one or more districts and Exclusive Public
Prosecutor is proposed; - Power of Exclusive Courts to take cognizance of offence and
completion of trial in 2 months. Courts so established or specified
shall have power to directly take cognizance of offences under this Act
and the trial shall, as far as possible, be completed within a period of
two months from the date of filing of the charge sheet. - Addition of chapter on the ‘Rights of Victims and Witnesses’. As of
now, the Act recognizes a few rights of the victims and witnesses. This
is insufficient. Therefore many other essential rights are covered so as
to impose duty and responsibility upon the State for making
arrangements for the protection of victims, their dependants and
witnesses against any kind of intimidation, coercion or inducement or
violence or threats of violence. - Defining clearly the term ‘wilful negligence’ of public servants at
all levels, starting from the registration of complaint, and covering
aspects of dereliction of duty under this Act. Section 4 of the present
Act does not clearly define what constitutes ‘wilful negligence’ of
public servants. Hence, ‘wilful negligence’ is defined by listing
specific transgressions of law: for example, police officers not putting
down accurately in writing the victim’s complaint; not reading out to
the victims what has been recorded prior to getting their signature; not
registering FIR under the Act; not registering it under appropriate
sections of the Act; etc. - Addition of presumption to the offences –If the accused was
acquainted with the victim or his family, the court will presume that
the accused was aware of the caste or tribal identity of the victim
unless proved otherwise.
The Act, Rules and Amendments
- The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 (The Bare Act)
- The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules 1995 (Just the Rules)
- Amendments of 23 December 2011 amending rules and enhancing compensation.
- The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance of 4 March 2014 (fairly comprehensive overhaul with new sections, chapters and schedules added)
See also
References
- The Statement of the object and reasons for SC/ST(PoA)ACT 1989
- Rules
1995 ‘G.S.R 316(E) - In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section
(1) of Section 23 of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (33 of 1989), the Central
Government hereby makes the following rules…’ - Home Minister P Chidambaram in Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) on 30 August 2010
- P.S. Krishnan, ‘Atrocities against Dalits: Retrospect and Prospect’, Combat Law, Vol.8, Issue 5-6, 2009, p.12.
- Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of SCs & STs, 4th Report 2004-05, New Delhi, 2005, para 1.2
- Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of SCs and STs, 4th Report 2004-05, New Delhi, 2005, para 1.4
- National Commission for SCs, First Report 2004-05, New Delhi, 2006, pp.222-3.
- NHRC, Report on Prevention of Atrocities against SCs, New Delhi, 2004, pp.14-15.
- State of Madhya Pradesh and Anr vs. Ram Krishna Balothia and Anr (1995) (2) SCC 221
- Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of SCs & STs, 4th Report 2004-05,New Delhi, 2005, para 1.1
- Clarification by Ministry of Home Affairs, noted in NHRC, Report on Prevention of Atrocities against SCs, New Delhi, 2002, p.28.
- Clarification from Ministry of Home Affairs.
- National Commission for SCs, First Report 2004- 05,New Delhi, 2006, p.223.
- Home Minister P Chidambaram in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) on 30 August 2010
- (1992) 3 S.C.R. 284
- Annual Report on The Scheduled Castes and The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 for the Year 2002, at p.12.
- 2001 Census
- The Hindu, accessed 13 December 2011
- Karnataka State Report 2011
- 7(1).—
An offence committed under the Act shall be investigated by a police
officer not below the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police. The
investigating officer shall be appointed by the State Government
/Director General of Police/Superintendent of Police after taking into
account his past experience, sense of ability and justice to perceive
the implications of the case and investigate it along with right lines
within the shortest possible time. - In 2002 the conviction rate was a mere 2 percent. Report by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
- 1999 Cr LJ 2918
- 1999 Cr LJ 3938
- Lok Sabha Debates, see http://164.100.24.208/ls/lsdeb/ls13/ses13/210803.htm
- Ministry of Home Affairs - Govt of India - India an Overview - India - History[dead link]
- Karnataka State Report 2011
- Home Minister P Chidambaram in the Lok Sabha on 30 August 2010
- Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (accessed 13 December 2011
- “Human Rights Watch, “Broken People: Caste Violence Against India’s Untouchables““. Hrw.org. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- Karnataka State Report 2009
- Minutes of the SVMC meeting, september 2010.
- K.I. Vibhute,
“Right to Live with Human Dignity of Scheduled Castes and Tribes:
Legislative Spirit and Social Response – Some Reflections”, 44 JILI
(2002) 469 at 481. - AIR 1994 MP 143
- 11
- Iris Young, “Justice
and Politics of Difference”. Amita Dhanda (compiled by), “Law and
Poverty Reading Material – IV Semester B.A.B.L (Hons)”, 1st edition
2006, p.29 - “Whenever the SC or
ST victim of atrocity presents a report to the Sub-Inspector or
Circle-Inspector in charge of Police Station and if he records F.I.R.,
and register a case, the Sub-Inspector or Circle-Inspector should arrest
the assailant or assailants who committed the atrocity on the
complaint-SC. But the Sub-Inspector or Circle-Inspector who recorded the
F.I.R., and registered a case did not arrest the assailants except in
rare cases. On the other hand, it is stated in their representations
that those assailants against whom the SC-victims presented complaints
lodge counter reports to the Police against SC-victims and the
Sub-Inspectors or Circle-Inspectors register counter cases against the
SCs (Victims) and arrest them. When a counter report is presented by the
assailant who is the accused in the report presented by the SC-victim,
it was filed obviously with the sole intention to counter blast the
complaint filed by the SC-victim. As a result of the counter cases, the
real SC victims of the atrocities are being arrested and subjected to
criminal litigation as accused in the counter cases” (Justice Punnayya
Commission, Government of Andhra Pradesh 2001). - 1999 Cr LJ 998 (Cal)
- Karansingh v. State of MP, 1992 Cr LJ 3054 (MP)
- The full monitoring
of the Act is virtually a ’systems audit’ that, in addition to the
police and judicial process, includes the monthly, quarterly,
half-yearly and annual reports, compliance regarding prevention,
rehabilitation, performance reviews, quarterly district vigilance and
monitoring committee (DVMC) meetings and half yearly state vigilance and
monitoring committee (SVMC) meetings.
External links
External links
[hide]
http://socialjustice.nic.in/policiesacts1.php
Scheduled Caste Welfare - Policies / Acts / Rules / Codes / Circular
- Website for Manual Scavenger Survey in Statutory Towns.
(New) - The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Rules, 2013. (PDF file that opens in a new window) (New)
- Notification for Enforcement of the Act - The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. (PDF file that opens in a new window) (New)
- The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. (PDF file that opens in a new window) (New)
The Scheme provides Central assistance to State Governments on a
50:50 basis (100% to the UTs) for the measures undertaken/proposed by
them for effective implementation of both the Acts namely Protection of
Civil Rights Act 1955 and the SCs and STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
1989.
1. The Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act 1955
- Act
- Rules
- Annual Reports (2004) ,
(2005),
(2006),
(2007),
(2008),
(2009),
(2010),
(2011) and
(2012)(New) - Annexures to the Annual Reports PCR (2008)
- Statements showing cases registered by the police and their disposal under PCR Act, 1955 during the year 2006 (Annexure-I)
- Statement showing cases with Courts under the PCR Act, 1995 and their disposal during the year 2006 (Annexure-II)
- Central Assistance Released under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (New)
- Statements showing cases registered by the police and their disposal under PCR Act, 1955 during the year 2005
- Code of Procedure
for National Award for outstanding fieldwork in eradicating
Untouchability and combating offences of Atrocities against Scheduled
Castes
2. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities): POA Act, 1989
- Act
- The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance, 2014(New)
- Rules ,
Amendment Rules 2011) (PDF file that opens in a new window),
Amendment Rules 2013) (PDF file that opens in a new window)(New) - Annual Reports (2004) ,
(2005),
(2006),
(2007),
(2008),
(2009),
(2010),
(2011) and
(2012)(New) - Annexures to the Annual Reports PoA (2008) (New)
- Statement
showing cases registered by police and their disposal under the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act, 1989 during the year 2006, Annexure– II (A) (Para 2.3) - Statement
showing cases registered by police and their disposal under the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act, 1989 during the year 2006, Annexure– II (B) (Para 2.3) - Statement
showing cases with Courts under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and their disposal during
the year 2006, Annexure– III (A) (Para 2.4) - Statement
showing cases with Courts under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and their disposal during
the year 2006, Annexure– III (B) (Para 2.4) - Cases registered under PCR and POA Act (New)
- Appointment of Nodal Officers
- Exclusive Special
Courts setup by State Governments under the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Preventation of Atrocities) Act 1989 (New) - Atrocity
Prone Areas identified by the State Governments under the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 (New) - Committee
constituted for effective coordination to devise ways and means to curb
offences of untouchability and atrocities against SCs/STs and effective
implementation of the PCR and PoA Acts (New) - Statements showing cases registered by the police and their disposal under POA Act 1989 during the year 2002
- Statements showing cases registered by the police and their disposal under POA Act 1989 during the year 2005
Information on the Appointment of
Nodal Officers by State Governments / Union Territory Administration in
accordance with Rule 9 of Scheduled caste and Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Rule, 1995
The Nodal Officers have been appointed in the States/UTs of Andhra
Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal
Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Nagaland,, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura,
Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu,
Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Delhi and Pondicherry.
http://tribal.nic.in/WriteReadData/CMS/Documents/201303131039493105468poaact989E4227472861.pdf
http://www.indlaw.com/guest/DisplayNews.aspx?7FB9DAF9-D6E4-41DF-B376-B5A204D5CC03
SC condition for conviction under SC/ST atrocities act
The
Supreme Court has held that a person cannot be convicted for an offence
under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act 1989 for making casteist remarks against an SC or ST
unless and until it is proved that the accused belongs to the upper
caste.
A bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, Mukundakam
Sharma and H L Dattu, while setting aside the judgment of Bombay High
Court which had quashed the FIR lodged by the petitioner Asha Bai
Machindra Adhagale against the accused for abusing her in the name of
her caste, said ‘it needs no reiteration that the FIR is not expected to
be an encyclopedia.
‘As rightly contended by the learned
counsel for the appellant whether the accused belongs to Scheduled Caste
or Scheduled Tribe can be gone into when the matter is being
investigated.
‘Under Section 23(1) of the Act, the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) rules, 1995 have
been framed.
‘After ascertaining the facts during the course of
investigation, it is open to the investigating officer to record that
the accused either belongs to or does not belong to the SC/ST. After
final opinion is formed, it is open to the court to either accept the
same or take cognizance.’ The High Court had quashed the FIR only
because the caste of the accused was not mentioned in it.
UNI