The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (Act 33 of 1989), popularly known as the SC/ST Act or the PoA Act, is a special criminal law enacted by the Parliament of India. It is designed to prevent atrocities, hate crimes, and discrimination against members of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). The Act was passed on September 11, 1989, and came into force on January 30, 1990, to address the inadequacy of existing laws like the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, in checking caste-based indignities and violence. Its constitutional roots lie in Article 15 (prohibition of discrimination) and Article 17 (abolition of untouchability).
The Act's mechanism is centered on Section 3, which lists numerous offenses—defined as 'atrocities'—committed by non-SC/ST individuals against SC/ST members, including physical assaults, wrongful dispossession of land, and social boycott. It mandates the establishment of Special Courts for the speedy trial of such offenses and provides for the relief and rehabilitation of victims. A key provision is Section 18, which originally barred the application of Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.), thereby forbidding anticipatory bail for the accused.
The Act has undergone significant changes, notably the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018. This amendment was passed to nullify the effect of the Supreme Court's 2018 judgment in Subhash Kashinath Mahajan v. State of Maharashtra, which had introduced safeguards like a mandatory preliminary inquiry before registering a First Information Report (FIR) and allowing anticipatory bail. The 2018 amendment inserted Section 18A, which explicitly states that no preliminary inquiry or prior approval is required for the arrest of any person accused under the Act, and that the bar on anticipatory bail remains. The constitutional validity of Section 18A was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court in Prathvi Raj Chauhan v. Union of India. The Act is connected to the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, which it superseded in scope, and the SC/ST (PoA) Rules, 1995, which detail relief and rehabilitation measures for victims.