Govt admits SC, ST conviction rate in Gujarat very low, low paid lawyers to fight lag

By Rajiv Shah
In a major admission, the Gujarat government has said that government pleaders are so preoccupied with their jobs that they are “unable to address” and give “enough time” to fight cases related with Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. A government resolution (GR) issued by the state’s social justice and empowerment department with the specific intention of raising the conviction rate of atrocities cases has said that in the recent past the state government has witnessed a sharp fall in the ability to take up atrocity cases.
“Compared to many other states, the number of cases in which there is a failure to arrive at any conclusion in atrocity cases has gone up in Gujarat”, the GR admits, adding, the rate of success in the atrocities cases in the state is actually “negligible”. “In order to increase the success rate of conviction in atrocities cases and ensure their effectiveness, the Gujarat government has decided to provide certain concessions in the present rules by allowing private lawyers to be hired to fight atrocity cases”, the GR says. Till now, only government pleaders were allowed to fight atrocity cases.
And how does the Gujarat government want to increase the conviction rate? By allowing the complainants, belonging to SC or ST section, to “hire” a “private lawyer” or her or his liking, says the GR. And how much would the state government pay to such a “private lawyer” for this? The GR fixes the following maximum amount: Rs 50,000 in the case of murder and Rs 25,000 in the case of rape or any other major criminal case. The complainant, the GR says, can “take advantage of having a private lawyer through the backward class welfare official in each district.” It adds, the state government has set aside Rs 3.35 crore in the financial year 2013-14 for this.
The GR further says, under the scheme, the amount that the government would pay would have to follow the following criterion: “The private lawyer’s fee or government offer, whichever is lower”. It does not, however, say what the complainant should do in case the lawyer’s fee is higher than the maximum amount fixed! Then, 50 per cent of the amount would be paid to the private lawyer before the start of the case, while the rest of the 50 per cent would be paid after the end of the case. Further, “Only those private lawyers would be allowed to fight cases, who have at least 10 years the experience of taking up criminal cases”, the GR points out.
The GR says, “Priority would be given to scheduled tribe or caste private lawyers, though much would depend on the choice of the complainant.” At the same time, the GR points out, the cases would have to be taken up taking into account “limited government resources allocated during the current financial year”. It adds, “In future, efforts would be made to allocate a higher fund. In the meanwhile, it would be necessary to confine oneself to allocating the limited resources available for this.” The decision on this was taken, the GR informs, between the last week of April and first week of April.
Criticising the GR, a senior activist, Kantilal Parmar, told www.counterview.net, “It is difficult to understand how the state government fixed the amount and under what criterion to pay to a private lawyer. Which private lawyer would agree for such a small amount?” Parmar, who belongs to Ahmedabad-based NGO Navsarjan Trust, said, “This is the surest attempt to shoo away best of the advocates to fight atrocity cases. We all know, how much do they charge. Some of them charge Rs 10,000 as single sitting consultation fees. Which world is the government living in?”
According to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, conviction rate of atrocities against Dalits in Gujarat is one of the lowest in India. ML Punia, chairman of the commission, was quoted as saying in Gandhinagar that Gujarat may be a developed rate, but when it comes to conviction of those who have been booked under the atrocities Act, it is just about 3.5 per cent. This, he added, is against a whopping 34 per cent conviction rate in the country as a whole.

Comments

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Civil society flags widespread violations of land acquisition Act before Parliamentary panel

By Jag Jivan Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in Scheduled Areas and tribal regions.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Beneath the stone: Revisiting the New Jersey mandir controversy

By Rajiv Shah A recent report published in the British media outlet The Guardian , titled “Workers carved the largest modern Hindu temple in the west. Now, some have incurable lung disease,” took me back to my visits to the New Jersey mandir —first in 2022, when it was still under construction, though parts of it were open to visitors, and again in 2024, after its completion.

Protesters in UK cities voice concerns over alleged developments in Bastar region

By A Representative Demonstrations were held across several cities in the United Kingdom on March 28, as groups and activists gathered to protest what they described as state actions in India under the reported “Operation Kagar.”

Search This Blog