Skip to main content

Disproportionately high death sentences against Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims: UN told

Counterview Desk
In their joint submission to the United Nations Human Rights Committee to meet for the listing of adoption of list of issues at its 126th session, July 1-26, 2019, top Dalit rights organizations have taken strong exception to, among other things, "disproportional application of death sentencing by the judiciary of minorities, such as Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis".
Prepared by National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ), which is attached with the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), and the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN), the submission wonders how could the state explain the "discrepancy between the rise of crimes against Scheduled Castes and the low rates of conviction of these crimes, despite the enactment of the Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989."

Excerpts:

The caste and religious profile of individuals whose death sentences have been confirmed shows that a disproportionate section come from Dalit community and religious minority families. According to the Death Penalty India Report, NLS, 76% (279 prisoners) of prisoners sentenced to death in India belong to backward classes and religious minorities, with all 12 female prisoners belonging to backward classes and religious minorities.
While the proportion of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes amongst all prisoners sentenced to death in India was 24.5%, that proportion was significantly higher in Maharashtra (50%), Karnataka (36.4%), Madhya Pradesh (36%), Bihar (31.4%) and Jharkhand (30.8%), amongst states with 10 or more prisoners sentenced to death.
Of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes prisoners, 85.4% were also economically vulnerable. For religious minorities, this proportion was 76%, compared to 64.4% for the general category. This intersectionality mirrors contemporary society, and meant that the experiences of certain categories of death row prisoners and their families were also different.
Religious minorities, for whom the all-India proportion is 20.7%, saw a disproportionate share of convicts in Gujarat, where 15 out of the 19 (79%) prisoners sentenced to death were Muslim. According to the 2011 census, 9.67% of the state is Muslim.
In Kerala, 60% of death row prisoners were from religious minorities (relative to 42.25% of the population, according to the 2011 Census) – five Muslims and four Christians amongst 15 death row prisoners. Karnataka too saw a large proportion of religious minorities on death row, 31.8% of the total. This is relative to 16.01% of the state being from religious minorities.
At the lowest rung the social profile of prisoners sentenced to death more or less reflects the overall national figures. However, as we move up the hierarchy of the legal process, we see the proportion of general category prisoners falling and the proportion of SC/ STs and religious minorities increasing.
In death penalty cases pending in the Supreme Court, the proportion of general category is 15.7% while it is 26.7% in the High Court pending cases. The proportion of SC/STs rose to 27.5% in the category of Supreme Court pending cases from 20.7% at the High Court pending stage.
The proportion of SC/STs further increased to 42% at the mercy stage. Religious minorities comprised 19.6% of the cases at the High Court pending stage but their proportion increased to 29.4% at the Supreme Court pending stage. The proportion of the general category at the mercy stage is 18%, which is the same as the proportion of religious minorities.
Recommended question: To what reasons does the State party attribute the disproportional application of death sentencing by the Judiciary of minorities, such as Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis?
***
While the reporting of crime against Dalits and Adivasis has risen over the decade, there has not been an equivalent rise in the rate of disposal of cases by the police and courts under one of the protective laws for Dalit's and Adivasis i.e, Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and Rules 1995 as amended in 2016.
As many as 422,799 crimes against Dalits or Scheduled castes (SCs) and 81,332 crimes against adivasis were reported between 2006 and 2016. The highest increases in crimes were recorded in eight states Goa, Kerala, Delhi, Gujarat, Bihar, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Sikkim where rates rose over 10 times. Meanwhile 81,322 crimes against adivasis have been reported from 2006 to 2016, with the highest increases in crime rates recorded in Kerala, Karnataka and Bihar.
Cases of crimes against Scheduled Castes pending police investigation have nearly doubled (99%), from 8,380 cases in 2006 to 16,654 cases in 2016. In the case of crime against Scheduled Tribes, pendency of investigation has risen 55% from 1,679 cases in 2006 to 2,602 cases by the end of 2016.
In courts, crimes against Scheduled Castes pending trial have risen by 50% over the decade from 85,264 to 129,831 as of 2016. In 2016 alone, 40,801 new crimes against Dalit’s were registered under the Prevention of Atrocities Act and less than 15,000 cases completed trial that year.
The number of trials completed in court has dropped by 28% from 20,495 in 2006 to 14,615 in 2016. For Scheduled Tribes, trials completed in a year has nearly halved (by 49%) since 2006 from 2,895 to 4,317 in 2016. While those pending trial has risen by 28%.
Conviction rate remains less than 30% over a decade. Among the crimes that do get disposed of in court, about a quarter lead to convictions in crimes against Dalits. As of 2016, this conviction rate calculated by dividing the number of convictions in a year by number of cases completing trial in a year stood at 26%, a 2 % point decline from the rate a decade ago (28%). Accused persons in the rest 74% of cases completing trial in 2016 were acquitted, which again is a rise from 2006 when 72% of cases led to acquittals.
The conviction rate in cases of crime against Scheduled Tribes, at 21% in 2016, is even worse, showing a 7-percentage-point decline from 2006 (28%) with the rest 79% acquitted.
Recommended question: Could the State party explain the discrepancy between the rise of crimes against Scheduled Castes and the low rates of conviction of these crimes, despite the enactment of the Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989?
*** 
As many as 422,799 crimes against Dalits and 81,332 crimes against Adivasis were reported between 2006 and 201648. Over the decade to 2016, crime rate against Dalit’s rose by 25%; from 16.3 crimes per 100,000 Dalits reported in 2006, to 20.3 crimes in 2016.
Cases pending police investigation for both marginalised groups has risen by 99% and 55% respectively, while the pendency in courts has risen by 50% and 28%, respectively. The conviction rates for crime against SCs and STs have fallen by 2% points and 7% points, respectively, to 26% and 21%, from 2006 to 2016.
The recent gruesome report of the beheading of a Dalit minor girl in Tamil Nadu49 for rejecting the advances of an upper caste male once again throws the issue of caste discrimination into sharp focus. Women from Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are particularly vulnerable to discrimination and violence due to the intersection of caste and gender.
In 2016, nearly 16% of the total atrocities against SCs constituted offences against SC women. This figure was double, almost 30%, with respect to ST women. Of the four Southern States, the proportion of crimes against SC (29.8%) and ST (60.9%) women in the overall crimes was highest in Kerala, against the national average of 15.9% and 41.7% respectively.
The proportion of offences against ST women is half the total number of offences in Kerala which has consistently recorded extremely high incidence of crimes against ST women, in keeping with the overall large number of offences against STs. Tamil Nadu has reported the lowest proportion of offences against SC and ST women, between 5-8% among the four States between 2014 and 2016. While Andhra Pradesh also reported similar numbers as Tamil Nadu in 2014 and 2015, the crimes against SC (19%) and ST (20.4%) women as a proportion of overall crimes spiked in 2016.
If we consider the registered cases of rape alone, out of a total of 36,657 registered offences of rape committed against women in 2016 and registered under the IPC, 2,536 registered cases of rape were committed against SC women (6.9%) and 972 registered cases of rape were committed against ST women (2.6%).
Kerala has consistently recorded the highest number of registered cases of rape against ST women, clocking crime rates of 8.7, 9.7 and 9.7 in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, has recorded, with a total of 319 registered cases of rape against women in 2016, of which 40 cases were offences of rape committed against SC women and 1 case of rape against an ST woman.
Caste inspired violence against Dalits and Adivasis has become increasingly common across India over the last few years and the audacity with which they are conducted suggests a complete absence of fear of consequences. These crimes range from lynching and mob violence to violence inflicted by vigilantes, sexual assault and even outright murder.
Dalits and Adivasis have borne the brunt of a large chunk of this violence. The trigger is either the suspected consumption of beef or even the whiff of an interfaith or inter-caste relationship, alledged theft, or alleging petty offences.
Recommended question: Does the State party perceive the alarming rates of violence, including sexual violence, against women belonging to minorities such as Dalits and  Adivasis as a challenge in the implementation of Articles 10.1 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CICCPR)? If so, has the State party put in place any strategy or plan in order to reduce these rates, and also addressing the feeling of impunity in such cases?
---
Click HERE for full submission

Comments

TRENDING

Junk food push causing severe public health crisis of obesity, diabetes in India: Report

By Rajiv Shah  A new report , “The Junk Push: Rising Consumption of Ultra-processed foods in India- Policy, Politics and Reality”, public health experts, consumers groups, lawyers, youth and patient groups, has called upon the Government of India to check the soaring consumption of High Fat Sugar or Salt (HFSS) foods or ultra-processed foods (UPF), popularly called junk food.

Avoidable Narmada floods: Modi birthday fete caused long wait for release of dam waters

Counterview Desk  Top advocacy group, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), has accused the Sardar Sarovar dam operators for once again acting in an "unaccountable" manner, bringing "avoidable floods in downstream Gujarat."  In a detailed analysis, SANDRP has said that the water level at the Golden Bridge in Bharuch approached the highest flood level on September 17, 2023, but these "could have been significantly lower and much less disastrous" both for the upstream and downstream areas of the dam, if the authorities had taken action earlier based on available actionable information.

From 'Naatu-Naatu' to 'Nipah-Nipah': Dancing to the tune of western pipers?

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Some critics have commented that the ecstatic response of most Indians to the Oscar for the racy Indian song, “Naatu-Naatu” from the film, “RRR” reeks of sheer racism, insulting visuals and a colonial hangover. It was perhaps these ingredients that impressed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, one critic says.

Astonishing? Violating its own policy, Barclays 'refinanced' Adani Group's $8 billion bonds

By Rajiv Shah  A new report released by two global NGOs, BankTrack and the Toxic Bonds Network, has claimed to have come up with “a disquieting truth”: that Barclays, a financial heavyweight with a “controversial” track record, is deeply entrenched in a “disturbing” alliance with “the Indian conglomerate and coal miner Adani Group.”

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Asset managers hold '2.8 times more equity' in fossil fuel cos than in green investments

By Deepanwita Gita Niyogi*  The world’s largest asset managers are far off track to meet the  2050 net zero commitments , a new study  released by InfluenceMap , a London-based think tank working on climate change and sustainability, says. Released on August 1, the Asset Managers and Climate Change 2023 report by FinanceMap, a work stream of InfluenceMap, finds that the world’s largest asset managers have not improved on their climate performance in the past two years.

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Victim of 'hazardous' jobs, Delhi sanitary workers get two thirds of minimum wages

By Sanjeev Kumar*  Recently, the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) organized a Training of Trainers (ToT) Workshop for sewer workers and waste pickers from all across Delhi NCR. The workshop focused on bringing sanitation workers from different parts of Delhi to train them for organization building and to discuss their issues of minimum wage, contractual labour, regular jobs and social security.