Monday, Jun 13, 2005
Monday, Jun 13, 2005 |
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Rajasthan
Special Correspondent
JAIPUR: Dalit lawyers in Ajmer have decided to establish a legal aid centre to help out the victims of caste-based violence and ensure effective implementation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The centre will make legal intervention free of cost in the cases of persecution of Dalits in the district and fight for justice for them. Dalit lawyers, participating in a convention organised by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights and the Human Rights Law Network in Ajmer on Saturday, pointed out that the conviction rate under the Act was abysmally low in Rajasthan despite the full-fledged special courts functioning in all districts. "The prosecution is often unable to present the cases effectively and the judicial system is generally hostile to Dalits," Satish Kumar, State secretary of NCDHR, said. The participants in the convention called for rigorous measures for strengthening the capacity of Dalit lawyers to enable them to take up the cases of atrocities on those belonging to SC and ST. The State agencies should also deal with the caste-based offences with the seriousness they deserved, they felt. Colin Gonsalves, senior advocate of the Supreme Court, said the SC/ST Act was one of the most effective statutes in the world, vesting the State authorities with extensive powers to check crimes against Dalits. However, recent surveys had found that the conviction rate under the law was only one to two per cent in most of the States, he added. The national co-convenor of NCDHR, P.L. Mimroth, underlined the need for spreading awareness about the provisions of the Act even among the lawyers, while the president of the State unit of People's Union for Civil Liberties and former MP, Than Singh, said the Dalit lawyers would be required to launch a "persistent struggle" for ensuring extension of legal protection to the community.
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