New Delhi: Thirty-five years after Parliament enacted a law mandating dedicated police stations for cases of caste-based violence, only seven states and union territories have set them up, a Parliamentary committee has found.
The Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment, in a report tabled in Parliament Wednesday, noted that only 181 special police stations—as required under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (PoA Act)—exist across the country. All 181 are in Bihar (40), Madhya Pradesh (51), Chhattisgarh (27), Jharkhand (24), Karnataka (33), Kerala (3), and Puducherry (3).
“The committee is shocked to know that even after more than three decades of enactment of the PoA Act, only seven states/UTs have such police stations,” the report states. It added that regular meetings with state governments “over the years have also failed to yield the desired result”.
The committee chaired by BJP MP P. C. Mohan also said it found no information on the setting up of special courts, which the Act separately mandates for the speedy trial of atrocity cases.
States with several incidents have no special stations
Surprisingly, the states with the highest number of registered atrocity cases have no special police stations. According to the National Crime Records Bureau’s Crime in India 2023 report, crimes against Scheduled Castes crossed 57,000 that year. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases at around 15,000, followed by Rajasthan at 8,500, Madhya Pradesh at 7,800, and Bihar at 7,000. These four states together account for almost two-thirds of all SC atrocity cases nationally.
Of these, only Madhya Pradesh and Bihar have set up Special Police Stations. Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan—states with the highest number of cases—have none. Crimes against Scheduled Tribes rose sharply in 2023, up 28.8 per cent to 12,960 cases, with Manipur accounting for a large share due to ethnic violence that year. Conviction rates under the Act have remained low. They stood at around 39-40 per cent in 2020, falling to 32-33 per cent in 2022. Acquittal rates in PoA cases have remained above 60 per cent for these periods.
Centre says it cannot set a timeline
When the committee asked the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment about a timeline for compliance, the secretary of the department said: “It is difficult for me to suggest a timeline, but I assure you that it is a constant endeavour at every forum that the department engages with the respective state governments.”
A steering committee on the Acts, chaired by the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment and co-chaired by the Minister for Tribal Affairs, has held 29 meetings since 2006. The last meeting was held on 8 January 2026.
Law and order being a state subject, the Centre has no power to compel states to set up the stations. The ministry told the committee that it follows up with states through review meetings, regional conferences, and direct ministerial engagement with chief ministers.
Victim compensation, funding unchanged for years
The report also flagged that compensation slabs for atrocity victims—ranging from Rs 85,000 to Rs 8.25 lakh—have not been revised for years. The department has submitted a proposal to raise these by 43 per cent in line with the consumer price index, but it is pending approval from the expenditure finance committee.
The department has also, for the first time, proposed one-time financial support of Rs 5 lakh per police station to states for setting up special police stations, and Rs 90.70 lakh per special court on a 50-50 Centre-state sharing basis.
Expenditure even under the existing scheme has fallen short. In 2025-26, the department spent Rs 372 crore against an allocation of Rs 463 crore—funds meant for victim relief, strengthening of protection cells, awareness campaigns, and incentives for inter-caste marriages were underutilised.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Why Congress says Question 12 casts doubt on Centre’s ‘true intentions’ & a ‘fair caste census’