Chandigarh, September 1:- Haryana Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Shri Krishan Kumar Bedi said that under Rule 16 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, a State Level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shri Naib Singh Saini. This committee reviews the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, relief and rehabilitation provided to the victims, prosecution of cases under the Act, role of various officers/agencies responsible for implementation and reports received by the State Government.
Shri Bedi was replying to a question asked on the third day of the monsoon session of the Vidhan Sabha.
The Social Justice and Empowerment Minister said that the Haryana Government and the Police have taken several effective steps to reduce crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the state. The Chief Minister has increased the fee to Rs 21,000 to provide legal rights to the families of Scheduled Castes victims.
He said that a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Protection Cell has been formed at the Police Headquarters, which is supervised by an Additional Director General of Police/Inspector General of Police level officer. This cell coordinates and monitors the registered cases. He said that special cells have been set up at the district and police station levels to ensure speedy registration of cases and fair and impartial investigation of caste-based atrocities on receiving information.
He said that regular monitoring is done at the Police Headquarters level to ensure all aspects of the investigation, including the timely arrest of the culprits.
The cases under the Scheduled Castes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 are being investigated by the Gazetted Officers i.e. officers of the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police/Assistant Commissioner of Police posted in the regional units. The Police Headquarters has issued instructions to all the regional units to complete the investigation by the investigating officers in a time bound manner.
Mr. Bedi further said that regular meetings are being held at the district level to review the progress of the investigation, so as to ensure accountability and effective implementation of the directions issued at the state level.
Further, to ensure timely disbursement of compensation/monetary relief to the victims, the Police Headquarters has issued instructions to all the regional units that copies of the First Information Report should be made available to the victim and the concerned District Welfare Officers immediately after the registration of the case, so that monetary relief can be provided to the victims. In addition, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 Amendment Acts, 2015 and 2018 and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 have also been included in the syllabus of various promotion courses conducted in all training centres.
Special drives are conducted from time to time in all the field units for disposal of cases pending under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and the progress of such cases is regularly monitored at the Police Headquarters level.
The Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment said that as per the report of the National Crime Records Bureau, 1,020 cases of atrocities were registered against persons belonging to Scheduled Castes in Haryana during the year 2024. Apart from this, 56 cases were registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, without invoking any section of the IPC/PCA.
He informed that the State Government and Haryana Police are continuously taking measures for prevention of such crimes, early registration and investigation of cases and effective monitoring and supervision of cases registered under the Act. These have been directed to submit challans within 60 days.
Mr. Bedi informed that the meeting of the said committee is held every year under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, in which the implementation of the provisions of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is reviewed. A month-long special campaign was launched in March, 2026, during which special efforts were made for early disposal of pending/under investigation cases and 175 cases were disposed of.
In addition, meetings of Nodal Officers and Investigation Officers related to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Act of all districts are regularly organized by Additional Director General of Police/Inspector General of Police level officer at Police Headquarters. Issues related to registration of cases, improvement in quality of investigation, early arrest of accused, counselling of victims, speedy disposal of cases, collection of evidence and effective implementation of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) are discussed in these meetings. In addition, awareness campaigns are being organized in villages to make the members of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes aware of their rights and legal protections available under various Acts.