SC/ST Act 1989 is in force to prevent atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the country. Under this, there is a provision for punishment and fine ranging from minimum 6 months to life imprisonment. The purpose of this law is not only to register the crimes committed against them but also to provide protection, financial help and justice to the victims.
However, despite such strict laws, the atrocities on SC-ST have not been curbed. The figures presented by the government in Parliament seem to testify to this. Statistics also show that among the registered cases, a large number are such cases which are pending till the investigation level.
In response to a question asked in the Rajya Sabha on July 22, 2026, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment presented nationwide figures of atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). According to the government, 57,569 cases will be registered against the SC community in the year 2022, 57,766 in the year 2023, and 55,685 in the year 2024. At the same time, 10,064 cases were registered against the ST community in the year 2022, 12,959 in the year 2023, and 9,961 in the year 2024.
This clearly means that most of the crime cases are registered in UP, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. A total of 55685 cases of crime were registered against the ST community in 2024. 9961 cases of crimes against Scheduled Tribes were registered. The highest number of cases pending are 4938 in Bihar, 2154 in Andhra and 1573 in Maharashtra. A total of 17123 cases are still pending. UP leads in conviction rate (73.3). Among the big states, Bengal (1.8) and Telangana (3.7) have the lowest conviction rates. The conviction rate of Bihar is 36.
Mere registration of the case is not enough. The most important question is in how many cases the culprits were punished. According to the government, the conviction rate in Scheduled Caste (SC) attacks at the national level in 2022 is 34.1 percent. 28.1 percent in ST cases. In 2023, 32.4 percent of SC and 24.6 percent of ST. Whereas in 2024, SC will be 33.9%, ST 33.2%. That means in three years the number remained only around one-third of these cases. This means that even among the cases where trials were completed, only one out of every three resulted in conviction.
In the year 2022, about 19,057 cases of attacks against SC community and 3,350 cases of ST were pending at the investigation level. At the same time, in 2023, 16,419 cases of SC and 6,961 cases of ST were pending at the investigation level. Apart from this, in the year 2024, 17,123 cases of SC and 7,219 of ST were stuck at the investigation stage.
The central government provides central assistance to the states to properly implement the SC/ST Atrocities Act, so that the victims can get economic relief and rehabilitation. According to the data given in the Parliament-
In view of the ever increasing cases against the SC-ST community, the government clarified in the Parliament that 'police' and 'public order' are subjects. Therefore, the primary responsibility for crime prevention, investigation and maintaining law and order lies with the state governments. There should be a reduction in crimes against SC/ST communities. For this, the Central Government issues advisories to the states and union territories from time to time.
This could also mean that cases of atrocities against the SC-ST community are continuously increasing. Now such cases have started being reported more in the police. However, despite the law and the system of financial assistance, the biggest challenge is speedy investigation, timely trawl trials and punishment of the culprits. If these systems are improved, the rate of providing justice to the SC-ST community and punishment to the culprits will always be low.
