Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday, 3 July directed state authorities to significantly improve the conviction rate in cases registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The directives were issued during a meeting of the State-Level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee, constituted to oversee implementation of the Act.

Key Directives from the Chief Minister

Fadnavis ordered that the performance of government prosecutors in securing convictions under special laws must be explicitly recorded and factored into their official evaluations — a move aimed at creating direct accountability within the prosecution machinery. He also announced that fast-track courts will be established in districts that report a high volume of Atrocity Act cases, with the mandate to deliver swift justice from the date of complaint filing.

The meeting was attended by Member of Parliament Hemant Savra and several Member of Legislative Assembly committee members.

Reforms in Compounding and Court Procedures

Citing provisions within the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that permit settlement or compounding of a case up to twice, Fadnavis directed that a formal proposal be submitted to introduce similar restrictions in the state's implementation of the Atrocities Act. He stressed that compounding must be capped at a maximum of two instances to prevent repeat offenders from escaping punishment.

In another procedural reform, the Chief Minister directed that court hearings in these cases be video-recorded — in alignment with BNS provisions — to address the persistent problem of witnesses turning hostile during trials.

Tackling Low Conviction Rates and Hostile Witnesses

Fadnavis directed the Home Department's MARVEL institute to conduct a root-cause analysis of low conviction rates, examining factors such as weak evidence, broken chains of events, and hostile witnesses. The study is expected to result in a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) guiding cases from registration through to the trial stage.

Since Sub-Divisional Police Officers (SDPOs) serve as the designated investigating authorities under the Act, the Chief Minister stressed that forthcoming state-wide workshops must prioritise training at the SDPO level. For heinous offences such as murder, rape, and dacoity registered under the Act, a dedicated Witness Protection Programme is to be implemented.

High-Incidence Districts Under Scrutiny

Fadnavis flagged that districts including Solapur, Ahilyanagar, Parbhani, Nanded, and Yavatmal record a disproportionately high number of cases under the Atrocities Act. He directed police administrations in these areas to investigate the underlying reasons, conduct deep inquiries, and submit detailed reports. He added that false cases must be filtered out following investigation and should not be registered.

Oversight and Next Steps

To ensure sustained accountability, high-level review meetings will be held twice a year at six-month intervals — one chaired by the Chief Minister at the state level and another by the Director General of Police (DGP). District authorities were also directed to strengthen coordination with government prosecutors and organise workshops for all administrative and law enforcement wings involved in enforcing the Act.