514 cases booked under SC/ST Act since 2020: RTI reply

Madurai: A Right to Information Act (RTI) reply received by a Madurai-based activist has revealed that 3,041 SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act cases were booked from 2020 until June 2025 in nine districts of Tamil Nadu. Madurai tops the list with 514 cases. Activists said sufficient initiatives are not being taken at the grassroots level to address discrimination in areas prone to caste atrocities, while the cases booked also remain pending in courts for years.Social welfare activist S Karthik found in response to his RTI query that Madurai, Theni, Pudukottai and Sivaganga were among the districts where most cases were recorded during the period. "It also came to light through the RTI reply that a total of 509 cases (about 16%) among the 3,041 booked were closed by police due to ‘mistake of fact.' The highest number of cases closed in such a manner was in Pudukottai with 124 , followed by Theni with 97 cases," he told TOI.Karthik also noted that 76 of the 514 cases in Madurai were recorded in Oomachikulam range alone, as of March 2024. Madurai district topped the state in the number of caste atrocity-prone areas identified as well. "However, despite such a dire situation, the number of social harmony awareness meetings conducted by officials in Madurai at the grassroots level remains low," he said.A Kathir, executive director of the dalit rights NGO Evidence, raised concerns about SC/ST Act cases pending in courts for years. "A rise in heinous caste crimes in recent years may have prompted more SC/ST Act cases to be registered by police. The investigation of an SC/ST Act case should be completed within 150 days and the chargesheet filed in 60 days, but there are delays in the filing of chargesheets and cases remain pending in courts for years," he said. He called for special courts for SC/ST Act cases to be established in all districts across Tamil Nadu."The Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare department in respective districts under the collector, along with the social justice and human rights wing, and the social welfare department, must work together to prevent and bring down caste atrocities," added Karthik.

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