Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 — back to Table of Contents
Section 3. Punishments for offences of atrocities
(1) Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, commits any of the following acts against a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years and with fine:
- (a) puts any inedible or obnoxious substance into the mouth of a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or forces such member to drink or eat such inedible or obnoxious substance;
- (b) dumps excreta, sewage, carcasses or any other obnoxious substance in premises, or at the entrance of the premises, occupied by a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe;
- (c) with intent to cause injury, insult or annoyance to any member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, dumps excreta, waste matter, carcasses or any other obnoxious substance in his neighbourhood;
- (d) garlands with footwear or parades naked or semi-naked a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe;
- (e) forcibly commits on a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe any act, such as removing clothes from the person, forcible tonsuring of head, removing moustaches, painting face or body or any other similar act, which is derogatory to human dignity;
- (f) wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or in the possession of or allotted to, or notified by any competent authority to be allotted to, a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, or gets such land transferred;
- (g) wrongfully dispossesses a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe from his land or premises or interferes with the enjoyment of his rights, including forest rights, over any land or premises or water or irrigation facilities or destroys the crops or takes away the produce therefrom (“wrongfully”, for clauses (f) and (g), includes acting against the person’s will, without consent, with consent obtained by putting the person or someone he cares about in fear of death or hurt, or by fabricating land records);
- (h) makes a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to do “begar” or other forms of forced or bonded labour other than any compulsory service for public purposes imposed by the Government;
- (i) compels a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to dispose or carry human or animal carcasses, or to dig graves;
- (j) makes a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to do manual scavenging or employs or permits the employment of such member for such purpose;
- (k) performs, or promotes dedicating a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe woman to a deity, idol, object of worship, temple, or other religious institution as a devadasi or any other similar practice, or permits the aforementioned acts;
- (l) forces, intimidates or prevents a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe from voting freely, filing or withdrawing a nomination, or proposing or seconding another member’s nomination as a candidate in any election;
- (m) forces, intimidates or obstructs a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe who holds elected office in a Panchayat or Municipality from performing their normal duties and functions;
- (n) after the poll, causes hurt or grievous hurt or assault, or imposes or threatens a social or economic boycott upon, or prevents a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe from availing benefits of any public service due to him;
- (o) commits any offence under this Act against a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe for having voted, not voted, or voted in a particular way;
- (p) institutes false, malicious or vexatious suit or criminal or other legal proceedings against a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe;
- (q) gives any false or frivolous information to any public servant, thereby causing that public servant to use his lawful power to the injury or annoyance of a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe;
- (r) intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe in any place within public view;
- (s) abuses any member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe by caste name in any place within public view;
- (t) destroys, damages or defiles any object (including a statue, photograph or portrait) generally known to be held sacred or in high esteem by members of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes;
- (u) by words, signs, or visible representation promotes or attempts to promote feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will against members of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes;
- (v) by words or other means disrespects any late person held in high esteem by members of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes;
- (w) intentionally touches a woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe in a sexual manner without her consent, knowing she belongs to such a Caste or Tribe, or uses sexual words, acts or gestures towards her (a woman’s non-resistance, or her sexual history including with the offender, does not by itself imply consent or mitigate the offence);
- (x) corrupts or fouls the water of any spring, reservoir or other source ordinarily used by members of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes so as to render it less fit for its ordinary purpose;
- (y) denies a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe any customary right of passage to a place of public resort, or obstructs such access;
- (z) forces or causes a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to leave his house, village or other place of residence (except where the action is taken in discharge of a public duty);
- (za) obstructs or prevents a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe from using common property resources, burial or cremation grounds, watering places, public conveyances, roads; mounting bicycles, motor cycles, wearing footwear or new clothes, or riding a horse/vehicle in wedding processions; entering places of worship, educational institutions, hospitals, shops or places of public entertainment; using public utensils or articles; or practicing any profession, occupation, trade, business or employment that other members of the public have a right to;
- (zb) causes physical harm or mental agony to a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe on the allegation of practicing witchcraft or being a witch; or
- (zc) imposes or threatens a social or economic boycott of any person, family or group belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe.
(2) Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe—
- (i) gives or fabricates false evidence intending to cause, or knowing it likely to cause, a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to be convicted of a capital offence, shall be punished with imprisonment for life and fine; and if such innocent member is convicted and executed as a result, the person who gave or fabricated the evidence shall be punished with death;
- (ii) gives or fabricates false evidence intending to cause, or knowing it likely to cause, such a member to be convicted of a non-capital offence punishable with seven years’ imprisonment or more, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than six months, up to seven years or upwards, and fine;
- (iii) commits mischief by fire or explosive substance causing or likely to cause damage to property belonging to such a member, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than six months, up to seven years, and fine;
- (iv) commits mischief by fire or explosive substance causing or likely to cause destruction of a building ordinarily used as a place of worship, human dwelling, or property custody by such a member, shall be punishable with imprisonment for life and fine;
- (v) commits any offence under the Indian Penal Code punishable with imprisonment of ten years or more against a person or property, knowing the person is a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or the property belongs to such a member, shall be punishable with imprisonment for life and fine;
- (va) commits any offence specified in the Schedule against such a person or property, knowing their identity, shall be punishable as specified under the Indian Penal Code for that offence, and shall also be liable to fine;
- (vi) knowingly or believing that an offence has been committed under this Chapter, causes evidence of the offence to disappear with intent to screen the offender, or gives false information respecting the offence, shall be punishable with the punishment provided for that offence; or
- (vii) being a public servant, commits any offence under this section, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than one year, up to the punishment provided for that offence.
Note: Sub-section (1) was substituted in its entirety, and sub-clause (va) of sub-section (2) inserted, by the 2015 Amendment Act (Act 1 of 2016), with effect from 26 January 2016 — substantially expanding the list of acts constituting an atrocity from the original 1989 text.
