Barriers to Justices and Scheduled Caste Women

Transcription

1 A Research Study Barriers to Justices and Scheduled Caste Women Research Area: Solapur, Kolhapur and Nashik Districts of Maharashtra Study period: 1st December 2004 to 30 th November 2009 Supported By: Minority Rights Group International Research Compiled By: Dr. Ambedkar Sheti Vikas Va Sansodhan Sanstha 211, Indira Nagar, Link Road, Goregaon (West), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

2 CONTENTS CONTENTS...2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...3 ABBREVIATIONS...4 PREFACE...5 INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVES METHODOLOGY STUDY AREA BASIC INFORMATION OF STUDY DISTRICTS DALIT WOMEN IN MAHARASHTRA ATROCITY RATE IN MAHARASHTRA...13 INFORMATION ON ATROCITY RECEIVED BY RTI...15 ANALYSIS OF CRIME AGAINST SC WOMEN Crime rates Under reporting of violence Violence experienced by SC women...18 ANALYSIS SC WOMEN S ACCESS TO THE JUSTICE SYSTEM Delays in filing the FIR Delays in arresting the accused Granting of Bail Filing of the Charge Sheet Convictions...32 OBSERVATION OF SOME CASES...36 CONCLUSION...37 RECOMMENDATIONS...38 REFERENCES...39 ~ 2 ~

3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS May heartfelt thanks to my Colleagues throughout the journey: Kathryn Ramsay, Veronique Dion from MRG, Manjula Pradeep from Navsarjan for providing the trigger, context and concept for this research. I am also grateful to Shiv Kumar for designing the Cover page of this research study. I am also indebted to Manjula Pradeep, Adv. Sushmaji, Archana More, Masum, Prasannaji, NCAS, Milind Babar, Lok Vikas Samajik Sanstha for patiently going through the draft and giving their critical comments and feedback. I would like to thank the research team lead by Prabha Yadav & Ms. Mala Nimbadkar. During research they were supported by Adv. Sunayana Thorat in Solapur, Kalpana Mohite in Kolhapur and Priyanka Adhangale in Nashik. Sunita Pagare, Nashik and Ganesh Kamble DVP member have played a supportive role at the local level. ~ 3 ~

4 ABBREVIATIONS RTI Right To Information Act 2005 DV The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 POA Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 IPC CRPC DVP ASVSS S K N MRG LCB SWO NHRC NCRB Indian Penal Code Criminal procedure Code. Dalit Vikas Parishad Dr. Ambedkar Sheti Vikas va Sanshodhan Sanstha Solapur Kolhapur Nashik Minority Rights Group International Local Crime Branch Social Welfare Office National Human Right Commission National Crime Record Bureau ~ 4 ~

5 PREFACE Since 2007, under the Dalit Women Empowerment programme groups of 2530 dalit women activists from Maharashtra are receiving various skills, training and interstate exposure which is facilitated by Navsarjan, Gujarat. Manjula Pradeep, Director of Navsarjan took keen interest in building DVP Women Groups in Maharashtra & linking them with MRG. In a national level women s group (WING) meeting, the group discussed and decided to work on issue of Women s Security. Ms. Prabha Yadav participated in the meeting and represented DVP and Maharashtra. Concerning the plight of SC women and their unequal status, denial of human rights and legal security, a research project on the access of SC women to justice mechanism was taken up in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. In Maharashtra, Dalit Vikas Parishad was to lead research under the guidance of its Convener Prabha Yadav and legal and administrative responsibility was taken by Mr. Tukaram Kamble, Secretary of Dr. Ambedkar Sheti Vikas Va Sansodhan Sanstha (ASVSS). The research was funded by Minority Right Group International (MRG), UK. Throughout the journey, Ms. Manjula Pradeep, Navsarjan had been very supportive. Likewise, Archana More, Masum, Milind Babar, Lok Vikas Samajik Sanstha and Lalit Babar, ASVSS have given their valuable comments on this final report of the research. ~ 5 ~

6 INTRODUCTION Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation. And it is perhaps the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development and peace. Kofi Annan The important aspect of social lives nowadays is mostly confined to the gender issues in various socioeconomichealthdemographic and cultural classifications of people in India. Atrocities on females of any age are the regular feature in our social, political and cultural lives. Unfortunately females are in a historical process neglected at the helm of men dominated society. Constitution of India provides equality to women and also empowers the state to adopt measures in favour of women to upgrade them from their disadvantage status in terms of socioeconomic, education and political scenario. Several articles of the constitution of India such as, equality (Article 14), no discrimination by the State (Article 15(1)), equality of opportunity (Article 16), equal pay for equal work (Article 39(d)). In addition, it allows special provisions to be made by the State in favour of women and children (Article 15(3)), renounces practices derogatory to the dignity of women (Article 51(A) (e)), and also allows for provisions to be made by the State for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief (Article 42). Besides, being women, caste; another harsh reality of Indian society plays its discriminatory part in India. In a male dominated society, Dalit women suffered unimaginable oppression, not only through caste, but gender too, from which there was no escape. The scheduled caste women are thrice discriminated, treated as untouchables and as outcastes, due to their caste, face gender discrimination being women and finally economic impoverishment due to unequal wage disparity, with low or underpaid labour. Even as we are in the 21st millennium, caste discrimination, an ageold practice that dehumanizes and perpetuates a cruel form of discrimination continues to be practiced. India where the practice is rampant despite the existence of a legislation to stop this, 160 million Dalits of which 49.96% are women continue to suffer discrimination. The situation of SC women in India needs special attention, thus there are several acts and policies to protect the rights of women had been enacted by the government of India. ~ 6 ~

7 Although all laws are not gender specific, the provisions of law affecting women significantly have been reviewed periodically and amendments carried out to keep pace with the emerging requirements. Some acts which have special provisions to safeguard women and their interests are: (i) The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 (ii) The Plantation Labour Act, 1951 (iii) The Family Courts Act, 1954 (iv) The Special Marriage Act, 1954 (v) The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (vi) The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 with amendment in 2005 (vii) Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (viii) The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (Amended in 1995) (ix) Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (x) The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (xi) The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1976 (xii) The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (xiii) The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (xiv) The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1983 (xv) The Factories (Amendment) Act, 1986 (xvi) Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 (xvii) Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 (xviii) The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (xix) Devdasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act, 1982 Besides these above special laws, the following sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) are also applicable for the protection of women from any form of violence. The Crimes Identified Under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (i) Rape (Sec. 376 IPC) (ii) Kidnapping & Abduction for different purposes ( Sec ) (iii) Homicide for Dowry, Dowry Deaths or their attempts (Sec. 302/304B IPC) (iv) Torture, both mental and physical (Sec. 498A IPC) (v) Molestation (Sec. 354 IPC) (vi) Sexual Harassment (Sec. 509 IPC) (vii) Importation of girls (up to 21 years of age) While there are plethora of laws available on paper to prove that the government is taking care of women s and their rights, but it is interesting to see the implementation of these acts and laws. In case of SC women, there is need to study the implementation of ~ 7 ~

8 the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to violence against women. 1. OBJECTIVES 1. To analyse data on of violence against SC women in selected districts of Maharashtra. 2. To understand the forms and intensity of violence experienced by women. 3. To assess the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in providing remedy for those SC women who are victims of violence. 4. To illustrate through case studies the experiences of some SC women victims. 5. To provide recommendations for improving timely delivery of justice to the SC women victims of violence. 2. METHODOLOGY In the first stage of the research, the study districts were selected after looking at the following aspects: a) Rates of atrocity. b) Population of SC Women. c) Presence of DVP and associates. ASVSS had been working in the western Maharashtra for a long time. Thus Solapur, Kolhapur and Nashik districts were selected for research looking at the above aspects. DVP associates Lokvikas Samajik Sanstha, headed by Milind Babar, also joined us in the research. ~ 8 ~

9 Data collection The research is based on the authentic and reliable data from the enforcement authorities. The data was collected from these authorities after filing RTI. An application under the Right to Information Act (RTI) was filed in the respective districts with offices of the Superintendent of Police. The applications requested data on recorded of violence against SC women in the last 5 years, i.e. from 1 st December 2004 to 30 th November The RTI application requested specific information on: Violence against Dalit women by NonDalits Violence against Dalit women by other Dalits Accidental Death of Dalit women Requests were made for data under the following Acts: SC/ST Prevention of Atrocity Act 1989 Indian Penal Code Cruelty to a married woman/dowry Matters Accidental/Unnatural Deaths In the RTI application, we asked for details about the victim and the case, including 1 The caste of the victim and the accused, the relationship (if any) between the victim and accused. The date of the First Information Report (FIR) and charges invoked in it. The date of arrest of the accused, the date of bail, the date of filing of the Charge Sheet and the charges invoked in the same. The status of the case including conviction, acquittal and pending. From the Social Welfare Office, information on any compensation paid to SC women victims of violence over the time period. The Domestic Violence Act of 2005 was not included in the study, because the process of dealing with Domestic Violence Act is different from the under the Indian Penal Code or SC/ST PoA Act. Under the Domestic Violence Act, the are reported to the Protection Officer. The role of the Protection Officer is to inform the victim of her rights and to obtain a Protection Order which might grant money, custody or residence, her right to access services including free legal advice and her right to file a complaint under section 498A of the IPC. Therefore, under the Domestic Violence Act are not ~ 9 ~

10 similar to the criminal under the other Acts included in this study unless Section 498A of the IPC is invoked. The data we received following the RTI application under section 498A of the IPC on violence against Dalit women by Dalits was not comprehensive enough and many of the details were missing. Therefore, on our experts advice, we also filed an application with the Solapur District Court asking for registered in during the project duration i.e. 1 st March 2004 to 31 st November 2009, asking for the number of registered in those years by SC women. Data Analysis The collected data was further analyzed to different forms and intensity of violence carried out against SC women. The effectiveness of the criminal justice system in providing justice to SC women victims was also evaluated. The analysis included: 1. Numbers of registered with each police station, 2. Nature of the crimes and the delays at various stages of the justice process. The analysis also examined the outcomes of the. 3. STUDY AREA Maharashtra is the third largest state in India both in area and population. The state is bounded by the Arabian Sea in the west, Gujarat in the north west, Madhya Pradesh in the north and the east, Andhra Pradesh in the south east and Karnataka and Goa in the south. The state of Maharashtra has an area of 307,713 sq. km. and a population of million. There are 37 districts, 358 blocks and villages. The State has population density of 314 per sq. km. ~ 10 ~

11 The total population of Maharashtra, as per the 2001 Census, is 96,878,627. Of this, 9,881,656 (10.2 per cent) are Scheduled Castes (SCs). The SC population constitutes 5.9 per cent of the country s SC population. Fifty nine (59) SCs have been notified in Maharashtra under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, According to the 2001 census, Maharashtra s total population is 96,878,647. Out of this, the SC population is 9,881,656 that is 10.2% (Excluding NeoBuddhist). The overall sex ratio of the SC population in Maharashtra is 952 females per 1000 males, which is higher than 922 reported for state population as a whole at 2001 Census. 4. BASIC INFORMATION OF STUDY DISTRICTS Kolhapur District The overall population of Kolhapur district is 3, 523, 162 The Scheduled Caste population is 449,641 i.e. 12.8% of the district population The SC Women s population is 219,292 i.e % of the overall SC population Solapur District The overall population of Solapur district is 3,849,543 The Scheduled Caste population is 578,123 i.e. 15% of the total district The SC Women s population is 281,953 i.e % of the overall SC population ~ 11 ~

12 Nashik District The population of Nashik district is 4,993,796 The Scheduled Caste population is 426,516 i.e. 8.5% of the district population The SC Women s population is 208,013 i.e % of the overall SC population The percentage of Scheduled Castes population to the total district population varies across the three districts, it ranges from 8.5% in the district of Nashik to 15% in the district of Solapur. 5. DALIT WOMEN IN MAHARASHTRA Maharashtra State is known for its progress and progressive perception; however, the weaker sections of society are still deprived and discriminated because of their low social status in the society. Social status and gender constraint is used as weapon of humiliation and cause of violence by dominant castes. SC women face trauma of social, sexual and physical abuse; women in unorganized occupations face economic exploitation also. In specific districts of Maharashtra State, namely Solapur, Kolhapur and Sangli, the Devadasi System (a form of religiously sanctioned prostitution) is practiced. Then in urban cities like Pune and Mumbai, women working as prostitutes are mainly from Dalit and Muslim communities. ~ 12 ~

13 6. ATROCITY RATE IN MAHARASHTRA The table below describes the numbers of crimes committed against the whole Scheduled Caste population in the state of Maharashtra which were registered with the police between 2004 and Table 1: Atrocity Case in Maharashtra (2004 to 2009) Forms of Atrocity Years Total Murder Rape Kidnapping Robbery Forced Robbery* Arson Physical Injuries Crimes under Protection of Civil Right Act Crimes under PoA Act Others Total * Forced robbery refers to when (mainly young) SC/ST persons are forced into committing robbery or are otherwise deceived and commit acts of theft. ~ 13 ~

14 If we look at the figure of rapes, there has been a gradual increase in reported of rapes from 63 in 2004 to 105 in The only year where the number was lower is the year The number of crimes registered under the PoA Act, had also increased significantly from over 200 crimes in 2004 to 400 in This suggests that social injustices and caste based violence is on increase in Maharashtra. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports, 67% of between 1992 and 2000 and 65% between 2001 and 2007 were not registered under the SC and ST (PoA) Act when they should have been, thereby denying SC & ST victims the protection of the PoA Act. The number of which were registered under the PoA Act, in 84.4% of, wrong provisions were applied to conceal the heinous, inhuman and violent nature of the atrocities committed. 1 1 National Coalition for Strengthening SC&ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, The Status of Implementation and need for Amendments in Prevention of Atrocities Act, India, NCDHR, p.5 ~ 14 ~

15 INFORMATION ON ATROCITY RECEIVED BY RTI Information provided on crimes against SC women by NonSC For of violence against SC women by nonsc we received information from an average of 36.5% of police stations in the three districts. Table 2a: Information provided on crimes against SC women by NonSC District Total number of Police Stations in the District Number of Police Stations that provided information Percentage of Police Stations that provided information Solapur % Kolhapur % Nashik % Total % Information provided on crimes against SC women by SC With respect to violence against SC women perpetrated by SCs under IPC sections, the data received in response to the RTI application also was incomplete. Only 10.6% of police stations in the 3 districts provided information. Table 2b: Information provided on crimes against SC women by SC District Total number of Police Stations in the District Number of Police Stations that provided information Percentage of Police Stations that provided information Solapur % Kolhapur % Nashik % Total % Information provided on Accidental Deaths of Dalit Women We received information on accidental deaths of Dalit women from a total of 18.8% of police stations. Again, Kolhapur district provided the least amount of information with only 2 police stations responding. Table 2c: Information provided on Accidental Deaths of Dalit Women Total number of Number of Police Percentage of Police District Police Stations in Stations that provided Stations that provided the District information information ~ 15 ~

16 Solapur % Kolhapur % Nashik % Total % Despite having a legal duty under the RTI Act, a significant number of police stations failed to comply with the request for data. This means that the total number of reported crimes cited in this study is almost certainly not the total number of reported crimes in Maharashtra. Considering the absence of data on reported crimes from many police stations and the likelihood that many crimes are not reported to the police at all, it is reasonable to conclude that the overall levels of violence against SC women in Maharashtra is significantly higher than the figures cited in this study. Cases filed under the Application Procedure Registered criminal complaint data does not include nongrievous crimes of violence registered through use of an Application filing. Under an Application filing, an Application is forwarded to the subdistrict magistrate under criminal procedure code section 107 which calls upon both parties to amicably settle only that part of the complaint which relates to breach of peace between the parties within six months. A Dalit victim of genderviolence is often illiterate of legal procedure and unfamiliar with the process for registering a complaint. A victim is often pressured into filing her complaint as an Application, and/or deceived into believing that the Application is the same as an F.I.R. Incomplete data received It is also important to highlight that the data we received through the RTI Act was incomplete. We requested information from all police stations in the study districts; however, most of them did not reply. ~ 16 ~

17 ANALYSIS OF CRIME AGAINST SC WOMEN 1. Crime rates The figures collated; show that year by year there is not much of a variation in the numbers of atrocities reported to the police stations in the three districts between 2004 and Table 3b: Percentage of atrocity per 10,000 female Dalit populations (Year wise figures: 1 st Dec 2004 to 30 th Nov 2009) Year wise number of reported of violence Incident of SC women population committed against SC women violence Sensitivity District per 10,000 (as per No Total SC women rank 2001) info population Kolhapur st Nashik Solapur Total nd rd As per the analysis, the percentage of reported atrocities per 10,000 of the SC women population within the period of 1st Dec 2004 to 30th Nov 2009 would be lower than expected, because the data received through RTI was incomplete in nature. Ranking of the districts was done by calculating the population of SC women and number of atrocity in within the 5 years. Out of the three districts, Kolhapur is ranked first with 2.33 incidents of atrocities per 10,000 SC women. Solapur ranks third with is 0.95 incidents of atrocities; however, it must be noted that all 27 of the in Solapur were on grievous nature. Table 3c: Grievous crimes committed against SC women by Non SC 1 st December th November 2009 Crime Solapur Kolhapur Nashik Total Murder 1 1 Rape Outraging of Modesty Physical Injury ~ 17 ~

18 Kidnapping 1 1 Abduction Total of Grievous Crimes Underreporting of violence While analyzing the data on the numbers of reported of violent crimes against SC women, it is important to remember that many crimes go unreported and never appear in official records due to various reasons, ranging from non cooperation and reluctance of police to file the case under PoA Act to hesitation on the part of victim because of its poor socioeconomic condition. In 2006, the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) published a detailed study on violence against dalit women in four states in India. Among the surveyed women victims of caste based violence, 40.2% were unable to seek any type of legal redress and 26.5% were blocked in their attempt to seek redress before they reached the police. The study also found that 1.6% of women obtained informal justice at the community level without involving the legal system and that 17.4% of women were blocked from obtaining legal redress either by the police or by other state actors. This means that that in 85.7% of instances of violence experienced by women in the four states, they were unable to take benefit or help of the legal system at all. 2 This suggests that the official figures of numbers of incidents of violence against SC women reported to the police in Maharashtra could be significantly lower than the number of incidents that actually take place and go unreported. 3. Violence experienced by SC women As this study focuses on crimes perpetrated against SC women on the basis of gender and caste. It is evident that the basic human rights of SC women is frequently violated and are often described as the oppressed of the oppressed, the violence and oppression on them being more complex and manifold even compared to SC men. There is [an] inseparable relationship between caste status, occupation and discrimination. The SC woman faces triple discrimination because she is an untouchable, of a poor class and is a woman. 2 Aloysius Irudayam S.J., Jayshree P. Mangubhai and Joel G. Lee, Dalit Women Speak Out: Violence Against Dalit Women in India, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, National Federation of Dalit Women, Institute of Development Education, Action and Studies, 2006, p ~ 18 ~

19 However, for a nuanced analysis of the data, it is necessary to differentiate between the types of crimes. For the purpose of this study we have grouped crimes using the following terms: Grievous : Murder, Rape, Attempt to Murder, Outraging of Modesty, Severe Physical Injuries, Kidnap and Abduction NonGrievous : Physical abuse not resulting in injuries, Verbal abuse and mental harassment. a) Violence against SC Women by nonscs Through the filing of the RTI application, data on 121 of violence against SC women by nonscs was collected. Out of these, 72% were grievous and 28% were nongrievous. The following table shows the number of received per district. Table 2d: Violence against SC Women by nonscs Cases during 1 st December 2004 to 30 th November 2009 District Total Non Grievous Percentage Grievous Percentage Solapur % % Kolhapur % 26 53% Nashik % 34 76% Total % 87 72% It is notable that in Solapur District, 100% registered are of grievous form. In Nashik district, 76% are grievous and in Kolhapur district 53% are grievous. Of the 121 crimes against SC women collected: the are of 1 murder, 35 rapes, 36 of outraging of modesty, 14 serious physical injuries and 1 kidnapping case. b) Violence against SC women by SCs From the RTI application, we received information on 101 of violence against SC women by Dalits. Solapur had the most number of, but all of the in Nashik were grievous nature. The included 3 murders, 1 attempt to murder, 6 rapes, 8 of outraging of modesty and 36 of subjecting a married woman to cruelty. Table 4a: Violence against SC women by SCs ~ 19 ~

20 District Total Cases Non Percentage Grievous Percentage Grievous Solapur % 29 56% Kolhapur % 1 5% Nashik % Total % 57 56% Table 4b: Forms of violence against SC women by SC in the three districts (1 st December 2004 to 30 th November 2009) Form of violence and IPC section District Solapur Kolhapur Nashik Total Subjecting a married woman to cruelty (498(A)) Attempted murder (306) Murder (302) Outraging of modesty (354) Rape (376) Serious physical injury (307) Abduction (363) Kidnapping (366) Dowry crimes Others* Total crimes * Crimes included in the other s category include intentional insult (IPC section 504), criminal intimidation (IPC section 506), causing an accident by negligence (IPC section 304 A) Table 4c: Violence against SC Women by SCs from 1st Dec 2004 to 30th Nov 2009 Year wise number of reported of violence Incident of SC women population committed against SC women violence Sensitivity District per 10,000 (as per No Total SC women rank 2001) info population Solapur st Nashik nd ~ 20 ~

21 Kolhapur rd Total c) Accidental/Unnatural Deaths of SC Women To provide a more detailed overview of the lives of SC women, we also requested information on termed Accidental/Unnatural Deaths. In these, the violent death of the SC women may not be a crime; however, it may also be the case that no investigation has been conducted into the suspicious nature of the deaths. Table 5: Accidental Death Data District Total Sudden Suicide Motor Health Other No Info. No. of Stove Vehicle Problem Cases Burst Kolhapur Solapur Nashik Total Note: The figures for Kolhapur include 19 crimes of causing an accident by negligence. The table above shows there were 126 recorded of accidental deaths of SC women during the research. The largest number of was due to accidents with motor vehicles. Sudden stove bursts caused 15 deaths and there were 6 of suicide. While all of the 126 deaths may have been accidents, how many of the could have been crimes where the violent deaths were wrongly registered as accidents? Were any of the of suicide actually abetment to suicide crimes? Were any of the of sudden stove burst actually murder? A significant number of had no information so it is not possible to evaluate whether these are crimes which should have been investigated or genuine accidents. ~ 21 ~

22 ANALYSIS SC WOMEN S ACCESS TO THE JUSTICE SYSTEM When an alleged crime under the PoA Act has been committed, there is a specify process which must be followed to render justice. Such as: Filing of a First Information Report (FIR). Arrest of the accused Granting or denial of bail to the accused Filing of the Charge Sheet or Summary within 30 days of the FIR in PoA Court proceedings to determine conviction, acquittal or compromise The same procedure is also followed for other criminal under other Acts; however, the Charge Sheet should be filed within 90 days rather than 30. Investigations under the PoA must be handled by the District s Deputy Superintendent of Police. The PoA also requires the establishment of Special Courts and Special Government Prosecutors to ensure rapid justice under the Act. It is important that the procedures outlined above are followed, especially for of violence against SC women. Where delays occur, injuries may heal, evidence of sexual violence may be washed away, victims and witnesses may be pressurized into dropping the case or accepting a compromise. Where the case involves a death, the body may be cremated without the cause of death being established. This study looked at delays and other violations of the procedural rules at each stage of the legal system. The study found that there are delays at every stage of the justice system for of violence against SC women by both SCs and nonscs. Excluding where information was not available, known delays occurred in between 48 and 69% of of violence by nonscs and in between 50 and 64% of of violence by SCs. Delays of over 30 days in filing the Charge Sheet occurred more frequently than delays in other stages. Filing the Charge Sheet was delayed by more than 30 days in 37% of of violence by nonscs and in 52% of of violence by SCs. Table 6A: Overview of Delays in 121 of violence against SC women by NonSCs Solapur Kolhapur Nashik Total delays in Total delays District: 27 District: 49 District: 45 3 districts: 121 over 30 days registered registered registered registered in 3 districts Filing of FIR Delays Over 30 days Delays Over 30 days Delays Over 30 days Total delays % Total % % 6 5% ~ 22 ~

23 Arrest of accused Filing of Charge sheet % 7 6% % 45 37% (Although there were 101 in total, 45 of those were either of causing accident by negligence or nongrievous where the information wasn t available. The analysis was done for the remaining 56.) Table 6b: Overview of Delays in 56 of violence against SCs women by SCs Solapur District: 28 registered Kolhapur District: 1 registered Nashik District: 27 registered Total delays in 3 districts: 56 registered Total delays over 30 days in 3 districts Filing of FIR Arrest of accused Filing of Charge sheet Over Over Over Total Delays 30 Delays 30 Delays 30 % Total % delays days days days % 13 23% % 6 11% % 29 52% Table 6c: Overview of the present status of registered between December 2004 and November 2009 Status of Case Violence by non Percentage of SCs (total total registered ) Violence by SCs (total 56 registered ) Total number of registered (177 ) Conviction % Acquittal % Pending in court % Compromise % Summary A % Summary B % Summary C % Information not % available ~ 23 ~

24 1. Delays in filing the FIR It is critical that an FIR is filed as soon as a crime is discovered or suspected. Evidence may be destroyed by perpetrators or in rape the medical evidence can be washed away. The Police cannot refuse to register the complaint. If that happens, the concerned police officer can be booked under Rule 4 of PoA. If an attempt to register an FIR in person is denied, under the PoA, an FIR can be registered through the Postal Service. It is observed that, mostly the police just note down the complaint initially, and then make an investigation and only after that the FIR is filed. This causes delays and as a consequence it opens the opportunity for the accused to put pressure on the victim or her family through the village head or other people in society and either the FIR is never registered or the case is compromised at initial stage before it is even registered. a) Delays in filing FIR in of violence against SC women by NonSCs Table 7a: Delay in Filing FIR in the 34 nongrievous District Total registered Delay in how many Within 1 day Period of Delay (Days) days & above N o delay Solapur Nashik Kolhapur Total Note: In the table, the delays are counted from the incident date. Note: Where the delay is within one day the delay is counted in hours. It is sometimes difficult to know the reason behind the delay. It may be police reluctance to file the case or it may be that it took the victim some time to decide to report the case. The above table shows there was a delay in filing the FIR in 76% of nongrievous. There were delays in 96% of registered nongrievous in Kolhapur and in 36% of in Nashik District. Table 7b: Delay in filing FIR in 87 grievous District Total registered Delay in how many Within 1 day Period of Delay days & above N o delay Solapur Nashik No info No info ~ 24 ~

25 Kolhapur Total There were delays in filing the FIR in 65.5% of all grievous. The highest percentage was in Kolhapur district where delays occurred in 88.5% of. In Solapur 66.7% of were delayed and in Nashik 47.1% of had delays. Taking all together, there were delays in filing the FIR in 83 out of 121, i.e. 67%. Kolhapur district also has most delays with 45 out of a total of 49 (92% of ) having delays. b) Delays in filing FIR in of violence against SC women by SCs The table below shows the delay in filing of the FIR under IPC section 498A. The delay is counted from the incident date as given by the police. In a high number of, no information on the timescale of filing the FIR was given in reply to the RTI request. Table 7c: Delays in filing FIR in of cruelty to SC women by her inlaws and Dowry prohibition act. District Total registered Delay in how many Within 1 day Period of Delay days & above N o delay Solapur Nashik Kolhapur Total There were delays in filing the FIR in 100% of of cruelty to a married woman in Solapur and Kolhapur districts. In Nashik there were delays in 24% of and no information was available in 72%. In total, there were delays in 47% of and no information available in 50% of. In only 3% (or 1 case) is it known that there was no delay in filing the FIR. Table 7d: Delay in filing FIR in of serious physical hurt of SC women by SCs District Total registered Delay in how many Within 1 day Period of Delay days & above N o delay Solapur No info No info ~ 25 ~

26 Nashik Kolhapur Total * Nongrievous and of causing an accident by negligence (the 'other' category in Table 4b) are not included in the analysis. We focus only on the 20 of serious physical hurt. The above table shows the delays in filing the FIR in of serious physical hurt of SC women by SCs. The delay is counted from after the incident registered with police station. It is important to note that we received no information at all from Kolhapur district. Again there were delays in filing the FIR in 100% of in Solapur district. Combining the figures shows that there were delays in filing the FIR in 36 out of 56 (64%) of violence against SC women by SCs. In 19 (34%) there was no information and in only 1 case (2%) was there no delay in filing the FIR. 2. Delays in arresting the accused Many times it is observed that a delay in arresting the person accused of a crime has an impact on the victim s access to justice. In many people from the community try to put pressure on the victim to not take the case further or to settle the case with payment of compensation money. They may also threaten victims with filing counter. When Mass Attack or multiple false counter are filed against the original victim of an atrocity, their only option may be to make a compromise whereby they drop their case. It is the nature of violent crimes against SC women that very often she knows the perpetrator and can immediately give his name to the police. A delay in arresting the accused causes delays further down the justice system such as delays in finalizing the charge sheet (which cannot be done before the accused is arrested) and delays in court proceedings. Sometimes the case is never brought before the court because the accused person has disappeared and no action can be taken due to absence of perpetrator, and sometimes the identity of the perpetrator remains unknown. Delays are counted from the date of the filing of the FIR. 7. Delay in arrest of the accused in of violence against SC women by NonSCs Table 8a: Delay in arrest of the accused in nongrievous ~ 26 ~

27 District Total registere d Delay in how many Within 1 day Period of Delay and above No delay Solapur Kolhapur Nashik Total There were delays in arresting the accused in 50% of nongrievous, in 44% of there was no information available and there was no delay in only 6% of. Table 8b: Delay in arrest of the accused in grievous District Total registere d Delay in how many Within 1 day Period of Delay and above No delay Solapur Kolhapur Nashik Total The above table shows that where there are delays in the arrest of the accused in grievous, most are delayed for 13 days (8 in Nashik and 7 in Solapur). However, the number of delays could be higher because there are 21 for which we did not receive any information. Looking in more detail at the figure of 4 delayed by more than 31 days, we found that 3 of these were delayed by more than 100 days. In 2 from Nashik, the delay in arresting the accused was by three and a half months and by four and a half months, in one case in Solapur, the delay was for just over 3 months and in one Kolhapur case, the delay was just over 5 months. In total, there were delays in the arrest of the accused in 58 out of 121 (48%) of violence against SC women by nonscs. In 36 (30%) there was no information available and in only 22% of was there no delay. 8. Delays in arrest of accused in of violence against SC women by SCs. Table 8c: Delay in arrest of the accused in of cruelty against women by her inlaws and Dowry prohibition act Delay Period of Delay Total in how District Within 31 & No No many registered 1day above delay info ~ 27 ~ No Info No Info

28 Solapur Nashik Kolhapur Total There were delays in every case where there was information available. In 47% of there were delays and in 53% of there was no information available. Delay in arrest of the accused in of serious physical hurt (IPC sec. 306, 302, 354, 376, 307, 452, 363,366, etc.) Table 8d District Total registered Delay in how many Within 1day Period of Delay & above No delay Solapur Nashik Kolhapur Total Note: nongrievous or of causing an accident by negligence are not included in the table. There were delays recorded in the arrest of the accused in 55% of of serious physical hurt of SC women committed by SCs. No delay was recorded in only 15% of and in 30% of there was no information provided. In total out of 56 of violence against SC committed by SCs, there were delays in 28 (50%), no information was available in 25 (45%) and in only 3 (5%) was there no delay. No info 3. Granting of Bail When a case is registered under the PoA Act, in most of the, it is of t is always they are of a grievous nature (i.e. crimes under IPC sections 363, 366, 376 or 302, and PoA sections 3(1)11 or 12 for rape and 3(2)5, and are punishable by more than 10 years imprisonment) bail may not be granted to the accused. This means that courts should not grant bail to a nonsc arrested for the rape or murder of a SC woman. When a SC woman is raped or murdered by SCs, then the case is registered under the IPC, this should also be nonbailable. The Criminal Procedures Code states that in serious, bail should not be given. ~ 28 ~

29 When bail is granted, a SC women victim of rape may find that she has to see the accused every day in the village. The accused also has the possibility to use their dominant status or monetary influence to pressurize the victim or witnesses and force them to accept a compromise. As the table below highlights, bail has been granted in murder and rape. In many anticipatory bail (Bail before Arrest) has been availed by the accused. a) Bail granted in of violence against SC women by NonSCs Table 9a: Bail granted to accused in Rape and Murder District Total registered Bail granted Bail not granted No information Murders Rapes Murder Rapes Murder Rapes Murder Rapes Solapur Nashik Kolhapur Total The above table shows that Bail is granted to the accused in 15 out of 16 rape (94%) in Solapur, followed by 3 rape out of 8 (38%) in Nashik District and 2 out of 11 (18%) in Kolhapur district. Overall, bail was granted in 57% of rape, there is no information regarding 31% of and in mere 11 rape, was bail not granted in accordance with the regulations. There is no information on the one murder case. b) Bail granted in of violence against SC women by SCs Table 9b: Bail granted to accused in Rape and Murder District Total registered Bail granted Bail not granted No information Murders Rapes Murder Rapes Murder Rapes Murder Rapes Solapur Nashik Kolhapur Total The above table shows instances of bail granted and not granted to the accused in of murder and rape of SC women perpetrated by SCs. Bail was granted in 50% of the rape and there is no information about the other 50%. Out of the 3 murder bail was not granted in one case (33%) and there is no information about the other (66%). ~ 29 ~

30 4. Filing of the Charge Sheet As per the PoA rules in atrocity, the Charge Sheet is to be filed within 30 days (from FIR date) with Superintendent of Police. The Charge sheet is the complete documented file containing the Panchnama i.e the incident location inspection report, witness statements, senior officer statement, a report on any weapons seized if weapons were used in the crime, a medical report, an investigation report, update or the status of the case and a copy of the FIR. A delay in filing the Charge sheet causes delays in the court procedure and justice to the victim. In many, the police never involve the victim in the investigation or inform the victim in regards to the filing of the Charge sheet. This means that the victim either does not understand the process or remains unaware of the progress of the case. An example of this showed up during the follow up research into the nine case studies. In the case of a rape in Solapur district, it emerged that the victim and her family were unaware that their case was pending with the court for a hearing. In their view they had never given the name of the perpetrator to the authorities and did not want to pursue the case out of fear that it would disturb the girl s new married life. In another case the victim had made an out of court settlement and did not wish to take up the case; however the case was pending in the court. a) Delays in Filing the Charge Sheet in of violence against SC women by Non SCs In total, the filing of the Charge Sheet was delayed in 62% of nongrievous, there was no delay in 26% of and no information was available for 12% of. Out of the 62% of delayed, 71% (or 15 out of 21 ) were delayed more than 31 days. Table 10a: Delay in filing charge sheet and summary filed in nongrievous Delay Period of Delay Total in how District Within 31 & No many registered 1day above delay Solapur Nashik Kolhapur Total b) Delay in filing charge sheet and summary filed in Grievous No info ~ 30 ~

31 In grievous, there was a delay in filing the Charge Sheet in 63% of, there was no delay in 22% of and no information was available in 15% of. Out of the 63% of where there was a delay, in 55% of (30 out of 55 ). The filing of the Charge Sheet was delayed for more than 31 days. Out of the 30 grievous delayed for more than 31 days, 4 were delayed for more than 90 days and 5 were delayed for more than 120 days. Table 10b: Delay in filing charge sheet and summary filed in Grievous Delay Period of Delay Total in how District Within 31 & many registered 1day above No delay Solapur Nashik Kolhapur Total No info c) Delays in filing the Charge sheet in of violence against SC women by SCs Table 10c: Delay in filing charge sheet and summary filed in of cruelty on women by her inlaws and Dowry Prohibition Act District Delay Period of Delay Total in how Within 31 & No No many registered 1day above delay info Solapur Nashik Kolhapur 1 1 Total The above table shows that in none of the was the Charge Sheet filed on time. There was a delay in filling the Charge sheet in 47% of all of cruelty to SC women by her inlaws and Dowry prohibition Act (including in 100% of in Solapur district). There was no information available in 53% of. d) Delay in filing charge sheet and summary filed in of serious physical hurt of SC women by SCs Table 10d ~ 31 ~

32 Delay Period of Delay* Summary** Total in how Over District Within No No many 31 1day days days days days delay info days A B C Solapur Nashik 2 2 Kolhapur Total *The Charge Sheet should be filed within 90 days of the FIR in nonpoa ** Summary A is filed when the police cannot identify the perpetrator and the case cannot be taken forward to court. Summary B is filed when the police judge the complaint to be false. Summary C is filed when the police consider there is not enough evidence to determine whether the complaint is true or false. The above table shows again that the charge sheet was not filed on time in any of the of serious physical hurt of SC women by SCs. There were delays in 80% of and no information available in 20% of. In Solapur district 89% of were delayed and of those 94% (or 15 out of 16 ) were delayed by more than 31days. 5. Convictions Section 14 of the PoA Act provides for the establishment of a Special Court in order to provide a speedy trial for PoA offences. However, the Act does not define speedy trial or specify a time period by which the case should be heard. It is notable that the amount of data received through the RTI application for the numbers of convictions, acquittals and pending was limited. Out of 87 grievous, information was missing in 46 (53%). Out of 36 registered under 498A, information was missing in 29 (81%). a) Status of the of violence against SC women by NonSCs Table 11a: Status of the nongrievous in the Sessions courts in the three districts Time Frame 1 st Dec 2004 to 30 th Nov st Dec 2005 to 30 th Nov2006 Total Status number of Convicted Acquitted Pending Information not available S K N S K N S K N S K N S K N ~ 32 ~

33 1 st Dec 2006 to 30 th Nov st Dec 2007 to th Nov st Dec 2008 to 30 th Nov Total None of the 34 of nongrievous crimes against SC women by nonscs registered between 2004 and 2009 resulted in the conviction of the perpetrator. In 82% of there was no information on the status of the case available. In 6% of the there was an acquittal and the case is pending with the courts in 12% of. b) Status of the grievous in the Sessions courts in the three districts Table 11b: Status Time Frame Total no of Information Convicted Acquitted Pending not available Years S K N S K N S K N S K N S K N 1 st Dec 2004 to th Nov st Dec 2005 to th Nov st Dec 2006 to th Nov st Dec 2007 to th Nov st Dec 2008 to th Nov No Incident date mentioned 1 1 Total The above table shows the status of the 87 grievous in the Sessions courts in the three districts between 1 st December 2004 and 30 th November In only 2 (4.6%) has there been a conviction. In 13 (14.9%) there was an acquittal, 25 (28.7%) are pending with the courts and in 47 (51.7%) the information is not available. In only 15 out of 87 grievous (17.2%) it is know that there has been a decision on the case. While it may be understandable that some from 2009 have not yet come to court, it would be reasonable to expect that the PoA provision for a speedy trial ~ 33 ~

34 would mean that registered earlier in the study period were concluded. However, this has not occurred. There were 57 registered between December 2004 and November 2007 and 40 of those (70%) have yet to be decided (between 3 and 6 years after the crime occurred). These 40 represent 46% of all 87 grievous. No from after December 2007 have had a court make a decision on them yet. There are 47 (51.7%) where the police have no record of the status of the case. c) Status of the of Violence against SC women by SCs The information received on the status of of violence against SC women by SCs was incomplete. This means that it is not possible to compile conviction and acquittal rates for the 101 included in the study. The tables below show the status of for which we received information. Table 11c: Status of of cruelty on women by her inlaws and Dowry prohibition act in the Sessions courts in the three districts Status Time Frame Total Case Information Convicted Acquitted Pending Registered not available S K N S K N S K N S K N S K N 1 st Dec 2004 to 30 th Nov st Dec 2005 to 30 th Nov st Dec 2006 to 30 th Nov st Dec 2007 to 30 th Nov st Dec 2008 to 30 th Nov Total Out of 36 of cruelty to married women by her inlaws, it appears that no have been convicted. 7 (19.4%) are pending with the courts and information is unavailable in 29 (80.5%). Of the 7 pending, 6 have been pending since Kolhapur Police have registered only 1 case under IPC section 498A and that case has also been pending since On further investigation of that case, we found that the police should have reported this case under the PoA Act because the victim belongs to a Scheduled Caste and the accused (perpetrator) belongs to an Other Backward Caste (OBC) caste, but it was wrongly registered under section 498A of the IPC only. ~ 34 ~