BHUBANESWAR: At least 20 per cent of cases registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Odisha are awaiting disposal due to the non-availability of caste details and medical opinion since 2020.
According to the e-District portal, of a total 13,618 applications relating to SC/ST atrocity cases received between January 2020 and March 10, 2026, at least 2,911 cases are pending across 301 tehsils. About 10,707 cases have been disposed of so far.
Earlier in February, the Human Rights Protection Cell (HRPC) of Odisha Police had drawn the attention of Revenue, Health, and Home departments to the matter. It had informed that about 343 requisitions for caste particulars were pending at tehsil offices between January 2020 and December 2025. Similarly, a staggering 24,138 medico-legal opinion requisitions submitted to hospitals were pending during the period.
In a majority of the cases registered under the SC/ST (PoA) Act, pendency at the stage of joint inquiry reports is due to the non-availability of caste particulars of victims, the accused and the complainants.
Joint inquiries in such cases are conducted by a DSP-rank officer along with an additional tehsildar or tehsildar (or an executive magistrate). Similarly, caste certificates are issued at the district-level by officers ranging from the collector to revenue officers not below the rank of tehsildar or additional tehsildar. However, with ground-level revenue administration unresponsive, caste particulars are delayed, which eventually slows down joint inquiries in these cases, sources said.
Expedite submission of caste certificates in cases under SC/ST Act: Padhee to collectors
In a recent letter, additional chief secretary in the Revenue and Disaster Management department Arabinda Kumar Padhee asked collectors to expedite the submission of caste particulars and medical opinions in cases registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act so that investigations can be completed and cases disposed of.
Police investigating officers collect caste certificates from the authorities concerned and submit them to members of the joint inquiry team. “In several instances, requisitions made by investigating officers for verification of caste status have remained unattended at the tehsil level for prolonged periods,” read Padhee’s letter, seen by TNIE. Padhee said such inordinate delays are not only impeding the timely submission of chargesheets but also slowing down the disbursement of statutory relief to victims. The procedural delays defeat the victim-centric objectives of the Act and put the administration into unavoidable legal complications, the letter added.
In another letter, ADG of HRPC Yatindra Koyal mentioned that a substantial number of joint inquiry reports are pending due to the non-receipt of medical opinions on the nature and severity of injuries, as well as the non-availability of caste certificates of victims, complainants, and accused persons. “Such delays are directly hampering the release of statutory relief and compensation to victims, in violation of the mandatory timelines under the SC/ST (PoA) Act,” he said.
Padhee has directed tehsildars to accord top priority to inquiries related to the verification of caste particulars in all pending cases and ensure that reports are furnished to investigating officers by March 31 without exception. Additional district magistrates (revenue) and sub-collectors will function as nodal officers at the district and sub-divisional levels, respectively, and will be personally responsible for ensuring that no case remains pending beyond March 31, Padhee said.