137 SPECIAL COURTS SET UP TO TRY CASES OF ATROCITIES AGAINST SCHEDULED CASTES & SCHEDULED TRIBES

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137 Exclusive Special Courts have been set up in 10 states to ensure early prosecution of cases under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Of them 12 Courts are in Andhra Pradesh, 11 in Bihar, 7 in Chhatisgarh, 10 in Gujarat, 6 in Karnataka, 29 in Madhya Pradesh, 17 in Rajasthan, 4 in Tamil Nadu, 40 in Uttar Pradesh and one in Uttaranchal. Further all state governments except Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland have notified the existing Courts of Session as Special Courts for trial of offences under the Act. Special Cells have also been set up in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Pondicherry for implementation of the Act and early prosecution of cases under it. During 2001, more than thirty thousand cases of atrocities were registered under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and prosecutions sanctioned in over 16,200 cases.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has been providing central assistance to the states and UTs to strengthen the administrative and judicial machinery for awareness generation and relief and rehabilitation of the affected persons. This assistance has witnessed a continuous increase during the last three years. It increased from Rs.27.08 crore in 2000-01 to about Rs. 40.18 crore in 2002-03.