ATROCITY ACT (Chapter- 2)
CHAPTER - 2
OFFECE OF ATROCITIES
3. Punishments for offences of Atrocities:-
(i) Forces a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Sheduled Tribe to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance,
(ii) acts with intent to cause injury insult or annoyance to any member of Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe by dumping excreta, waste matter carcasses or any other obnoxious substance in his premises or neighbourhood.
(iii) forcibly removes clothes from the person of a member of a Sheduled Caste or a Sheduled Tribe or parades him named or with painted face or body or commits any similar act which is detrogatory to human dignity,
(iv) wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or allotted to, or notified by any competent authority to be allot-ted to, a member of a Scheduled caste or a Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him tranferred.
(v) 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 over any land, premises or water,
(vi) compets or entics a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to do "begging" or other smililar forms of forced or bonded labour other than any compulsory service for public purposes imposed by Government.
(vii) forces or intimidates a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe not to vote or to vote a particular candidate or to vote in a manner other than that provided by law.
(viii) institutes false, malicious or vexations suit or criminal or other legal proceedings against a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe.
(ix) gives any false or frivolous informaton to any pubic servant and thereby causes such public servant to use his lawful power to the injury or annoyance of a member or a scheduled Caste or a schedulted Tribe.
(x) intestinally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe in any place within public view.
(xi) assaults or uses force to any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonour or outrage her modesty.
(xii) being in a position to dominate the will of a woman belonging to a Scheduled Cste or a Scheduled Tribe and uses that position to exploit her sexually to which she would not have otherwise agreed.
(xiii) corrupts or fouls the water of any spring, reservoir or any other source ordinarily used by members of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used.
(xiv) denies a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled tribe or obstructs such member soasto prevent him from using or having access to a place of public resort to which other members of public or any section thereof have a right to use or acess to.
(xv) forces or causes a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to leave his house, village, or other place or residence.
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.
(2) Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe :-
(i) give s or fabricates false evidence intending therby to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause, any member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe to be convicted of an offence which is capital by the law for the time being in force shall be punished with imprisonment for life and with fine, and if an innocent member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe be convicted and executed in consequence of such false or fabricated evidence, the person who gives or fabricates such false evcidence, shall be punished with death.
(ii) gives or fabricates false evidence intending therby to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will therby cause, any member or a Scheduled Castes or a Shcheduled Tribe to be convicted or an offence which is not capital but punishable with imprisonment for a term of seven years of upwards, shall be punishable with imprisonment for tgerm which shall not be less than six months but wihch may extend to seven years or upwards and with fine.
(iii) commits mischief by fire or any explosive substace intending to cause or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause damage to any property belonging to 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 seven years and with fine.
(iv) commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance intending to cause or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby caused destruction of any building which is ordinarily used as a place or worship or as a place for human dwelling or as a place for custody of the property by a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, shall be punishable with imprisonment for life and with fine.
(v) commits any offence under the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) punishable with imprisonment for a term of ten years or more against a person or property on the ground that such person is a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or such property belongs to such member, shall be punishable with imprisonment for life and with fine.
(vi) knowingly or having reason to belive that an offence has been committed under this Chapter, causes any evidence of the commission of that offecne to disappear with the intention of screenting the offender from legal punishment, or with that intention gives any information respecting the offence which he knows or believes to be false, 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 which shall not be less than one year bu which may extend to the punishment proviede for that offence.
4. Punishment for neglect of duties :-
Whoever, being a public servant but not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, witfully neglects his duties required to be performed by him under this, Act, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extedn to one year.
5. Whoever, having already been convicted of an offence under this Chapter...
Whoever, having already been convicted of an offence under this Chapter is convicted for the second offence or any offence subsequent to the second offence, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to the punishment provided for that offence.
6. Application of centain providions of the Indian Penal Code :-
Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the provisions of Section 34, Chapter III, Chapter IV, Chapter V, Chapter V-A, Section, 149 and Chapter XXIII of the Indian Penal Code (45 to 1860), shall, so far as may be, apply for the purpose of this Act as they apply for the purposes of the Indian Penal Code.
7. Forfeiture of property of certain persons :-
(1) Where a person has been convicted of any offence punishable under this Chapter, the Special Court may, in addition to awarding any punishment, by order in writing, declare that any property, moveable or immovable or both, belonging to the person, which has been used for the commission of that offence, shall stant forfeit-ed to Government.
(2) Where any person is accused of any offence under this Chapter, it shall be open to the Special Court trying him to pass an order that all or any of the properties, movable or immovable or both, belonging to him, shall during the period or such trail, be attached, and where such trial ends in conviction, the property so attached shall be liable to forfeiture to the extent it is required for the prupose of realisation of any fine imposed under this Chapter.
8. Presumption as to offences :-
in a prosecution for an offence under this Chapter, if it is proved that -
(a) the accused rendered any financial assistance to a person accused of, or reasonably suspected of comitting an offence underthis Chapter, the Special Court shall presume, unless the contrary is proved, that such person had abetted the offence,
(b) a group of persons committed an offence under this Chapter and it is proved that the offence committed was a sequal to any existing dispute regarding land or any other matter, it shall be presumed that the offence was committed in furtherance of the common intention or in prosecution of the common object.
9. Conferment of powers :-
(1) Notwithstanding anyting contained in the Code or any other provisions of this Act, the State Government may, if it considers it necessary or expedient so to do.
(a) for the prevention of and for copying with any offence under this Act, or
(b) for any case or class or group of cases under this Act,
in any district or part thereof, confer by notification in the Official Gazette, on any officer of the State Government the powers exercisable by a police officer under the Code in such district or part therof or, as the case may be, for such case or calss or group of cases, and in particular, the powers of arrest, investigation and prosecution of persons before any special Court.
(2) All officers of police and all other officers of Government shall assist the officer referred to in sub-section (1) in the execution of the provisions of this Actor any rule, scheme or order made thereunder.
(3) the provisions of the Code shall, so far as may be, apply to the exercise of the powers by an office under subsection (1).
