13.10.20 application for directions

13.10.20 application for directions

1. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
Crl. M.P. No. 2020
IN
WRIT PETITION (CRL.) NO. 296 OF 2020
(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India)
IN THE MATTER:
Satyama Dubey & Ors. ...Petitioners
Versus
Union of India & Ors ...Respondents
AND IN THE MATTER OF:
Radhika Vemula & Ors ...Impleader/Applicant

Application for Directions
(For Index, see inside)


Filed on:
ADVOCATE FOR APPLICANT/IMPLEADER: SATYA MITRA

2. Index
S.No. Particulars Page
No.
1. Application for directions 1-18
2. Annexure P-1
True Copy of extracted pafged of the Status Report (2009-
2018) titled “Quest For Justice – Status report on The
Implementation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and Rules 1995” by
National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ) - NCDHR, New
Delhi.
19-23
3. Annexure P-2
True Copy of 2019-20 Annual Report of the Department of
Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Social Justice
and Empowerment.
24
4. Annexure P-3
True Copy of The New Indian Express news article titled
“Eighteen states still lack plans to implement SC/ST
25- 26

3. Prevention of Atrocities Act” dated 9.9.19.
5. Annexure P-4
True Copy of The Hindu news article titled “No meetings of
SC, ST committees held in 25 States in 3 years” dated
17.3.20
27-28
6. Annexure P-5
True Copy of Press noted released by the Government of
Uttar Pradesh.
29

4. 1
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
Crl. M.P. No. 2020
IN
WRIT PETITION (CRL.) NO. 296 OF 2020
(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India)
IN THE MATTER:
Satyama Dubey & Ors. ...Petitioners
Versus
Union of India & Ors ...Respondents
AND IN THE MATTER OF:
1. Radhika Vemula ...Impleaders/Applicants No. 1
D.No: 63-27-2740/55
Pragathi Nagar, Old Guntur.
Guntur, Andhra Pradesh - 522001
Ph: 09100638640
2. Cynthia Stephen ...Impleaders/Applicants No. 2
27 Annamani layout Kariyanapalya,
St. Thomas town PO Bangalore,

5. 2
Karnataka- 560084
Phone No. [phone]
3. Grace Banu ...Impleaders/Applicants No. 3
202, Ambedkar Nagar
2nd street, Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu
Ph: [phone]
4. Manjula Pradeep, ...Impleaders/Applicants No. 4
D-408, Surel Apartments, Premchand Nagar road,
Ahmedabad - 380054.
Phone no. 9898515090

5. Pradnya Daya Pawar ...Impleaders/Applicants No. 5
Dr. Pradnya Daya Pawar:
F 704, Eternity Complex, Teen hath naka Thane West,
Maharashtra- 400604
Phone No. [phone]

6. Sujatha Surepally ...Impleaders/Applicants No. 6
Flat No 208, MM Towers , Mukhrampura , Karimnagar ,

6. 3
Telangana -505001,
Phone No. 9849468281

7. Disha Pinky Sheikh ...Impleaders/Applicants No. 7
Haji Manjil, ward 6, Dawkhar Road, Shrirampur,
tal. Shrirampur, Ahmednagar district, Gujarat - 413709
Phone No. 9922640622

8. Chhaya khobragade ...Impleaders/Applicants No. 8
Plot no 19, F3 pravin plaza,
Sahyog nagar, Nagpur, Maharashtra - 440026
Phone No. [phone]

9. Neetisha khalkho ...Impleaders/Applicants No. 9
Karamtoli chowk Moradabadi road
Ranchi, Jharkhand- 834008
Phone No. 9205645207
10. Swati Kamble, ...Impleaders/Applicants No. 10
Permanent- The Swadeshi Mill-Chowkhamba
Chawl, N. S. Mankikar Marg Sion-Chunabhatti,

7. 4
Mumbai 400022,
Current- Louis De Smetstraat 59, Gent 9050
East Flanders, Belgium
Phone no. [phone] & Phone no. [phone]

11. Riya Singh, ...Impleaders/Applicants No. 11
house no.163 Niti Khand 1 , Indirapuram ,
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201014
Phone No. [phone]

APPLICATION FOR DIRECTIONS
To,
Hon’ble Chief Justice Of
India And His Companion Justices
Of The Supreme Court of India

Humble Petition of
The Impleader Herein

Most Respectfully Showeth:
1. The above petition is a Public interest litigation filed seeking CBI
or SIT probe after ability of Uttar Pradesh Police to conduct fair

8. 5
and impartial investigation was questioned following the gang-
rape and murder of a Dalit woman by dominant caste men in
Hathras, Uttar Pradesh and her subsequent secretive cremation
in wee hours by the Uttar Pradesh Police officials restricting the
family members of the victim from attending the last rites.
2. This Hon’ble Court on 6.10.10 asked all parties appearing before
the Court to put forth suggestions as to the scope of the
Allahabad HC proceedings in the matter and how the top court
can make them more relevant.
3. The Applicants herein are women, and queer persons who are
activists, academics and journalists belonging to Dalit- Bahujan-
Adivasi- Vimukta communities. They collectively possess field
experience and analytical data which and above all personal
struggles that provide insights into caste- based atrocities faced
by Dalits especially the Dalit women and limitations to speedy
and fair access to the criminal justice system to Dalit girls and
women in India.
4. This present application is moved in the aftermath of the
Hathras caste-based sexual violence tragedy that has left the
country in shock. Hathras tragedy is not an isolated incident but

9. 6
actually stems from the country’s long oppressive history based
on caste that continues even in 2020. Data suggests that crimes
against Dalits were on the rise between 2006 - 2016. The
Constitution of India guarantees no discrimintain based on
caste, in pursuit to which the Untouchability offenses Act, 1955
and the Scheduled-Castes & Scheduled Tribes Prevention of
Atrocities Act, 1989, came into existence to safeguard Dalit
rights. But the grim reality is that caste-based dicrimination and
violence that many would say is part of only the “underbelly of
society” is in fact a dominant part of the India we live in today.
The Hathras tragedy is a shameful testimony to the systemic
caste-based discrimination exisiting in State machineries. The
Police Personnel, Politicians, and Government officials, in the
present tragedy have not only failed to implement the rule of
law, protect the marginalised but they have further inflicted
more pain & violence on the Hathras gang-rape & murder
victim’s family.
5. The Applicant has moved this intervention application in a larger
bona fide public interest for upholding the rights of the Schedule
Caste and Scheduled Tribe (“SC/ST”) community and that of

10. 7
society at large.The Antecedents of the Applicant have been
listed in detail in the accompanying Application on Intervention
and are not being repeated herein for the sake of brevity. That
the said Criminal Miscellaneous Petition be read as part and
parcel of the present Criminal Miscellaneous Petition.
Uttar Pradesh
State of Systematic Injustice against Dalits
6. State of Uttar Pradesh ranks first, with 51820 (22.38%)
registered PoA cases, becoming the state with highest
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act, 1989 (“PoA”) cases during 2009- 2018 (At Annexure P-1,
pg 19). Uttar Pradesh surprisingly has no data on “delay beyond
60 days in filing the charge-sheet” spanning over 9 years (At
Annexure P-1, pg 21).
7. Most cases registered in the state under the PoA act have been
filed under section 156(3) of Criminal procedure Code, 1974 (At
Annexure P-1, pg 20) indicating the absolute unwillingness of
Police Authorities to investigate cases borne out of caste based
atrocities.

11. 8
8. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of cases at 70,266
pending before its 40 special courts with 40 Special Public
Prosecutors. On an average each public prosecutor is handling
1756 cases (At Annexure P-1, pg 22 to 23).
Non-Implementation of Prevention of Atrocities Act
9. Complacency of the State of Uttar Pradesh is evidence from the
fact that the State has not even identified “atrocities prone
areas” as per Rule 3 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules (“PoA Rules”), 1995
despite being the state with highest cases of atrocities against
SC/ST community. This inaction is indicated in the 2019-20
Annual Report of the Department of Social Justice and
Empowerment, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (At
Annexure P-2, pg 24). Relevant portion of Rule 3 PoA Rules is
extracted below:
“3. Precautionary and preventive measures.-
With a view to prevent atrocities on the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes the State
Government shall,-
(i) identify the area where it has reason to believe
that atrocity may take place or there is an

12. 9
apprehension of reoccurrence of an offence under
the Act ;
***
(vii) set up a vigilance and monitoring committee to
suggest effective measures to implement the
provisions of the Act;”
10. It must be noted that the Respondent state of Uttar
Pradesh has also failed to formulate a contingency plan under
Rule 15 of the PoA Rules. The contingency plan helps states
provide relief and rehabilitation to atrocity victims under the
provisions of the PoA Act and specify the role and
responsibilities of various departments and their officials at
different levels. It also helps establish the roles and
responsibilities of rural, urban, local bodies and civil society
organisations. (At Annexure 3, pg 25 to 26) Relevant portion of
Rule 15 PoA Rules is extracted below:
“15. Contingency Plan by the State
Government.-
(1) The State Government shall prepare a model
contingency plan for implementing the provisions of
the Act and notify the same in the Official Gazette
of the State Government. It should specify the role
and responsibility of various departments and their
officers at different levels, the role and
responsibility of Rural/ Urban Local Bodies and Non-

13. 10
Government Organizations. Inter alia this plan shall
contain a package of relief measures including the
following:
(a) scheme to provide immediate relief in cash
or in kind or both;
(b) allotment of agricultural land and house-
sites;
(c) the rehabilitation packages;
(d) scheme for employment in Government or
Government undertaking to the dependent or
one of the family members of the victim;
(e) pension scheme for widows, dependent
children of the deceased, handicapped or old
age victims of atrocity;
(f) mandatory compensation for the victims;
(g) scheme for strengthening the
socioeconomic condition of the victim;
(h) provisions for providing brick/stone
masonry house to the victims;
(i) such other elements as health care, supply
of essential commodities, electrification,
adequate drinking water facility,
burial/cremation ground and link roads to the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
(2) The State Government shall forward a copy of
the contingency plan or a summary thereof and a
copy of the scheme, as soon as may be, to the
Central Government in the Ministry of Welfare and
to all the District Magistrates, Sub-Divisional

14. 11
Magistrates, Inspectors-General of Police and
Superintendents of Police.”
11. Uttar Pradesh State-level committee meant to monitor the
implementation of the PoA Act under Rule 16, PoA Rules has
not met even once in three years — 2016, 2017 and 2018,
according to information provided by the Union Social Justice
and Empowerment Ministry (At Annexure P-4, pg 27 to 29).
Relevant portion of Rule 16 of PoA Rules as extracted below:
“16. Constitution of State-level Vigilance and
Monitoring Committee.-
(1) The State Government shall constitute
high power vigilance and monitoring committee of
not more than 25 members consisting of the
following:
(i) Chief Minister/Administrator-Chairman (in
case of a State under President's Rule
Governor-Chairman).
(ii) Home Minister, Finance Minister and
Welfare Minister-Members (in case of a State
under the President's Rule Advisors -
Members);
(iii) all elected Members of Parliament and
State Legislative As sembly and Legislative
Council from the State belonging to the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes-
Members

15. 12
(iv) Chief Secretary, the Home Secretary, the
Director-General of Police, Director/ Deputy
Director, National Commission for the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes-
Members;
(v) the Secretary in-charge of the welfare and
development of the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes- Convener.
(2) The high power vigilance and monitoring committee
shall meet at least twice in a calendar year, in the month
of January and July to review the implementation of the
provisions of the Act, relief and rehabilitation facilities
provided to the victims and other matters connected
therewith, prosecution of cases under the Act, rule of
different officers/agencies responsible for implementing
the provisions of the Act and various reports received by
the State Government.”
12. Resolve of the Respondent State of Uttar Pradesh not to
actively eliminate caste-based atrocities is clear from their long-
standing slumber of not implementing PoA in the state
thoroughly. The conduct of the State Authorities and
government while dealing with investigation in the Hathras
gang-rape tragedy conclusively points to their inability to
understand prevalence of systemic caste-based discrimination
in their State.

16. 13
13. Respondent State has demonstrated insensitivity and lack of
tact in their dealing with the Hathras gang-rape tragedy
abundantly clear from their press statement dated 2.10.20
demanding for a “polygraph and narco test” of the victim’s family
(At Annexure P-5, pg 30).
14. In times of national crisis and tragedy citizens turn to State
Machineries put in place for protection of all citizens. Sheer
decency dictates that such a course of “investigation” i.e,
putting the bereaved through the invasive and humiliating
Narco test is not only contrary to the law but also
demonstrative of Respondent State’s lack of empathy towards
the horror of the victim’s family. The State has shown that they
do not possess the ability to deal with the tragedy at hand.
15. That in view of the prevailing circumstances, and further
keeping in mind existing discrimination based on caste to
prevent miscarriage of justice the Applicant herein prays that
this Hon'ble Court consider the additional suggestions being put
forth by the Applicant:

17. 14
I. For an order directing transfer of all connected
cases in the Hathras gang-rape and death from
Uttar Pradesh to Delhi Special Court to ensure fair
trial and meet the ends of justice as done by this
Hon’ble Court in Re: Alarming Rise In The
Number Of Reported Child Rape Incidents
Suo Motu Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 1/2019
(Unnao Rape Case) vide order dated 1.8.20,
Nivedita Jha vs The State Of Bihar 2019 SCC
OnLine SC 791 (Muzafarpur Shelter home case).
II. For an order directing the constitution of an
independent Special Investigation Team (“SIT”) by
this Hon’ble Court for investigating the Hathras
gang-rape & death tragedy to be monitored by this
Hon’ble Court. Special intervention and vigilance of
this court is a must owing to the fact that the ruling
party is the same both at Centre and State where
the crime was committed therefore, there persists a
serious chance of political interference. That Justice
Lodha of this Hon’ble Court in 2013 had remarked

18. 15
that the CBI is a “caged parrot with many masters”
during the Coal Block Scam proceedings. It is
therefore imperative to remove any possibility of
foul play, an independent Special Investigation
Team should be constituted by this Hon’ble Court to
conduct investigation in the Hathras gang-rape &
murder tragedy which must be monitored by this
Hon’ble Court.
III. For an order restraining Respondents from
conducting Polygraph test, Naro Test and Brain
Electrical Activation Profile on the victim’s family as
being violative of the 3-judge bench judgement in
Selvi v. State of Karnataka, (2010) 7 SCC 263
where this Hon’ble Court unequivocally held Article
20(3) of the Indian Constitution and section 161(2)
of CrPC protect accused, suspects and witnesses
from making self-incriminating statements.
Testimonial compulsions are prohibited by law and
that Polygraph test, Naro Test and Brain Electrical
Activation Profile is an unjustified intrusion into the

19. 16
mental privacy of an individual. It would also
amount to “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”
with regard to the language of evolving
international human rights norms. Furthermore,
placing reliance on the results gathered from these
techniques comes into conflict with the “right to fair
trial”.
IV. For an order directing Respondent State and
investigating agencies to secure rights of the
victim’s family and witness, provide protection, and
be treated with fairness, respect and dignity and
with due regard to any special need that arises
because their age or gender or educational
disadvantage or poverty as prescribed under
section 15A, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
V. For an order directing the Respondents to strictly
implement Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, especially the
State of Uttar Pradesh. In National Campaign on

20. 17
Dalit Human Rights v. Union of India, (2017)
2 SCC 432 3 judge bench observed in paragraph
18, the existing failure in the authorities in
complying with PoA Act due to their “indifferent
attitude”. Relevant portion extracted below:
“18.We have carefully examined the
material on record and we are of the opinion
that there has been a failure on the part of
the authorities concerned in complying with
the provisions of the Act and the Rules. The
laudable object with which the Act had been
made is defeated by the indifferent attitude of
the authorities. It is true that the State
Governments are responsible for carrying out
the provisions of the Act as contended by the
counsel for the Union of India. At the same
time, the Central Government has an
important role to play in ensuring the
compliance with the provisions of the Act.
Section 21(4) of the Act provides for a report
on the measures taken by the Central
Government and State Governments for the
effective implementation of the Act to be
placed before Parliament every year. The
constitutional goal of equality for all the
citizens of this country can be achieved only
when the rights of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes are protected. The
abundant material on record proves that the
authorities concerned are guilty of not

21. 18
enforcing the provisions of the Act. The
travails of the members of the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes continue
unabated. We are satisfied that the Central
Government and the State Governments
should be directed to strictly enforce the
provisions of the Act and we do so. The
National Commissions are also directed to
discharge their duties to protect the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The
National Legal Services Authority is requested
to formulate appropriate schemes to spread
awareness and provide free legal aid to
members of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes.”
And for this act of kindness, the petitioner shall forever be grateful.
Delhi, 13th October 2020 Applicant Though Counsel
Drawn by
Mr. Gunjan Singh, Ms. Pragya Ganjoo
and Ms. Disha Wadekar

(Satya Mitra)
Advocate-on-Record
For the Petitioner/Applicant
[email protected] | [phone]