Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015
No: 64 Dated: Feb, 23 2016
THE SCHEDULED CASTES AND THE SCHEDULED TRIBES (PREVENTION OF ATROCITIES) AMENDMENT ACT, 2015
An Act to amend the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Sixty-sixth Year ofthe Republic oflndia as follows:-
1. (1) This Act may be called the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. In the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in the long title, for the words "Special Courts", the words "Special Courts and the Exclusive Special Courts" shall be substituted.
3. In section 2 of the principal Act, in sub-section(1),-
(i) after clause (b), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:-
'(bb) "dependent" means the spouse, children, parents, brother and sister of the victim, who are dependent wholly or mainly on such victim for his support and maintenance;
(bc) "economic boycott" means-
(i) a refusal to deal with. work for hire or do business with other person; or
(ii) to deny opportunities including access to services or contractual opportunities for rendering service for consideration or
(iii) to refuse to do anything on which things would be commonly done in the ordinary course of business or
(iv) to abstain from the professional or business relations that one would maintain with other person
(bd) ·'Exclusive Special Court" means the Exclusive Special Court es1ablished under sub-section (1) of section 14 exclusively to try the offences under this Act;
(be) "forest rights" shall have the meaning assigned to it in sub-section (/) of section 3 of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Fores1 Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act. 2006;
(bf) "manual scavenger" shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (g) of sub-section(1) of section 2 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013;
(bg) "public servant" means a public servant as defined under section 21 of the Indian Penal Code as well as any other person deemed to be a public servant under any other law for the time being in force and includes any person acting in his official capacity under 1he Central Government or the state Government as the case may be;