Hyderabad: A seven-member public hearing panel has written to the Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, urging him to convene an immediate meeting of the State-Level High-Power Vigilance and Monitoring Committee under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The panel, comprimising of a retired judge, advocates and academicians, described serious gaps in the implementation of the Act and systemic atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis in the state.
On January 25, a day-long public hearing was organised where over 30 cases were reviewed, documenting instances of Dalit and Adivasi atrocities, survivors’ accounts. “The findings were deeply disturbing,” the letter read.
“Victims and survivors alleged negligence by police and revenue officials, including delays or refusal in registering FIRs, pressure to compromise with accused persons from dominant castes, failure to invoke relevant provisions of the Act, poor investigation leading to low conviction rates, delays in filing charge sheets and non-disbursement of compensation and relief mandated under the Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act rules,” they said.
Taking information obtained under the Right to Information Act (RTI) from the Scheduled Castes Development Department dated January 23, 2026, the panel said that in 2024, no atrocity victim received interim relief within the mandatory seven days. “No public servant was booked under Section 4 of the PoA Act for wilful neglect of duty, no legal aid facilities were provided to victims in 27 districts and no cases were registered under Sections 4 and 5 of the Act during the year,” the letter read.
“The absence of mandatory reviews at the state and district levels showcased severe gaps in the poor implementation of the Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act as well as institutional failures at all levels,” read the letter.
The panel said the State-Level High Power Vigilance and Monitoring Committee, reconstituted under the Chief Minister’s chairmanship through G.O.Ms. No. 5 issued by the Scheduled Castes Development Department on February 27, 2025, has not held a single meeting so far. Under the law, the committee is required to meet at least twice every year, in January and July.
Demands
The panel has called for strict enforcement of timelines for FIR registration, investigation, trial and compensation payments, action against negligent public servants, legal aid for victims, setting up District-Level Vigilance and Monitoring Committees across Telangana within two months and training for police, revenue and judicial officers to handle atrocity cases sensitively.
It sought speedy implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, to prevent arbitrary evictions and safeguard Adivasi land rights.
A detailed analytical report based on testimonies would be presented to the chief minister.
