© Sudhir Tailang
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) 1989 was amended by the Indian Parliament on 21st December 2015. The changes included stricter provisions to ensure justice to survivors of caste based and other forms of discrimination and atrocities. The amendments expanded on the list of what count as offences under the act; calls for the establishment of Special Courts and Exclusive Special Public Prosecutors and also enhanced the relief amount for survivors of offences. The amendments also include provisions for conviction and relief for rape and gang rape for the first time.
In accordance with this, the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry notified the Rules to give effect to the changes on 14th April 2016, Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birth anniversary.
The full text of the amended Act in English:
The full text of the changed Rules in Hindi:
