About the Act

• The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 aims to eliminate atrocities that are occurring against members of the SCs and STs while at the same time providing protection, compensation and rehabilitation to victims.
• The Act and its 1995 Rules were specifically enacted to prevent and protect SC/STs from atrocities committed against them by non-SCs/STs, because the normal provisions of the existing laws like the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 and the Indian Penal Code were found inadequate to prevent and eliminate these offences.
• The provisions of SC/ST PoA Act & Rules can be divided into three different categories. 
  • The first category 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.
• Criminal liability can only be established if the offence is committed by a person other than a member of SC/ST against a person who belongs to the SC/ST group.

Why in News?

• The Supreme Court held in a judgment that not all insults and intimidatory comments aimed at a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe person would be an offence under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
• The court held the Act would come into play if the insult had been intentionally thrown at the victim only on account that the latter was a SC/ST member. The court added that the very reason behind the intentional insult or intimidation should solely be the identity of the victim as a member of the SC/ST community.