Jammu Kashmir Records 26 Atrocities Cases Against Scheduled Castes in 2023, Up from 2 in 2019 | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir recorded 26 cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes in 2023, a rise from two cases reported in 2019, the Union home ministry told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The figures, drawn from the National Crime Records Bureau’s Crime in India data and tabled in a written reply by Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, show a fluctuating but upward trend in recent years.

State-wise data placed before Parliament show year-wise cases registered in Jammu and Kashmir under crimes/atrocities against Scheduled Castes as: 2019 — 2; 2020 — 7; 2021 — 13; 2022 — 11; 2023 — 26. Cases registered against Scheduled Tribes in the Union territory have remained minimal over the same period: 2019 — 0; 2020 — 0; 2021 — 1; 2022 — 1; 2023 — 0.

The ministry stressed that policing and public order are State subjects and that prevention, investigation and prosecution rest primarily with State and Union Territory law enforcement agencies. The reply noted that the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, as amended in 2015 and 2018, provides an expanded legal framework — including new offences, presumptions and institutional measures such as exclusive special courts and special public prosecutors — to secure faster redressal and stronger protection for victims.

The Home Ministry told Parliament that procedural obstacles to arrest and FIR registration were removed by the 2018 amendment to the Act. It also highlighted several centralised support measures aimed at strengthening implementation and victim relief: a National Helpline against Atrocities (toll free 14566); collaboration with the National Legal Services Authority for awareness; advisories to State and UT administrations; and training for police personnel through the Bureau of Police Research and Development.

Under a centrally sponsored scheme managed by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Government said it provides assistance to States and UTs for effective implementation of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, and the Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989. Central assistance covers functioning and strengthening of SC/ST protection cells and special police stations, setting up exclusive special courts, relief and rehabilitation for victims, incentives for inter-caste marriages where one spouse is a member of a Scheduled Caste, and awareness generation campaigns.

The annexures tabled with the reply give broader national context, several States reported substantially higher caseloads under the POA Act during 2019–2023, with a varying pattern of chargesheets and convictions across jurisdictions. The ministry reiterated that it has been advising States and UTs to give focused attention to administration of criminal justice in atrocity cases and to implement the POA Act and rules in letter and spirit.

The data and the Government’s response were presented in reply to Rajya Sabha unstarred question on Wednesday by MP Neeraj Dangi. The source of the figures is the National Crime Records Bureau’s Crime in India publication, as cited in the ministry’s annexures.