Shadow Of Criminal Tribes Act 1871 Still Looms Large : Supreme Court Judge Justice KV Viswanathan

Justice KV Vishwanathan delivered the keynote address on “Policing of Habitual Offenders: The Enduring Legacy of the Criminal Tribes Act in India” to commemorate Vimukta Day(August 30). This day marks the repeal of the Criminal Tribes Act 1871 (Act). The Act was the most draconian law passed by the British colonial state, under which millions of nomadic and semi-nomadic communities were declared criminals and put under continuous surveillance, making their lives impossible. After the repeal of the Act in 1952, these communities were de-notified, and about 200 communities were included in Scheduled Tribe (ST), Scheduled Caste (SC), and Other Backward Caste lists. At the outset, Justice KV Vishwanathan said that we must have these conversations because only then will we get to know the grotesque and horrendous nature of the Act. He said this Act attributed criminality at birth concerning certain tribes, mandated registration, and had provisions for conducting surveillance. Further, he highlighted that all of this was beyond any judicial oversight because the Act provided that nothing can be called into question by any court of law. At this, he remarked that “the statue was not just an affront to the dignity of the members of the tribes, but in my opinion, it was an affront to all right-thinking members who inhabit civilized states.”He said that even now, the evil shadow of the Act is looming large in the post-constitutional set-up; thus, we need to address them, and we cannot brush them aside. The Historical Reason Behind This Act In order to explain the historical reason, Justice Vishwanathan referred to the Bhiku Ramji Idate Commission. He told how a wrong historical notion of ‘crime is hereditary in nature’ was circulated in countries like Scotland and England. This theory led to the conception of this statute and the prevalent caste system in India. Justice Vishwanathan read out specific relevant paragraphs from the commission, including this one:“Thus, the category of the Criminal Tribe was born out of the Colonial British Government's misguided attempt to control Crime in India- by enactment of the Criminal Tribes Act in 1871. Through this as well as subsequent versions of the Act, the British branded nearly 150 communities as being criminal by birth. These communities were placed in settlements and were policed regularly. They were placed under constant surveillance and their movement regulated. This led to harassment, loss of livelihood and the denial of even the basic rights enshrined by law.”Justice Vishwanathan elucidated that the idea was to brand people as criminals solely based on their tribes, leading to innumerable hardships. He further explained how a great historian, Dr. Majumdar, debunked the theory of hereditary crime and protested by saying that crime is a product of a bad environment and poor economic conditions. After that, he referred to several provisions of the Act, including Section 2, per which:“If the Local Government has reason to believe that any tribe, gang or class of persons is addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences, may report the case to the Governor General in Council, and may request his permission to declare uch tribe, gang or class to be a criminal tribe.”This would, in turn, act to the benefit of the executive as this would give them the power to take steps against these tribe members, including re-settling them. Act Juxtapose to the Indian Constitution Justice Vishwanathan stated that if the Act were to be tested in the post-constitutional era, it would fail on several grounds. To begin with, the Act impinged Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution. Therefore, we commemorate its repeal as one could not imagine such a statute existed. Further, the Act also allowed to take the fingerprints of these tribe members without any judicial oversight. This was manifestly arbitrary and in violation of the Right to Privacy. Social Impact of the ActThereafter, he referred to certain findings of the Ananthasayanam Ayyangar Committee in 1949 (it was based on the report of this committee the Act was repealed) to highlight the social impact of this Act. He stated that the management turned out members of the tribe upon finding that they belonged to the tribe, which was branded as a criminal. Society as a whole treated them with humiliation, and several generations were made to carry this tag as a birthmark. Moving forward, he also talked about the unsung heroes who clamored against the Act, highlighted the practical impact of the Act, and intervened in the parliament when the repealed Act was debated. These people distributed pamphlets and wrote about the same to spread awareness were visionaries and thought far ahead of their time. At this, he referred to the pamphlet circulated by Vennelakanti Raghavaiah. In the said pamphlet, it was mentioned that these tribes had to report to the police station, and police officials would further also conduct...

Shadow Of Criminal Tribes Act 1871 Still Looms Large : Supreme Court Judge Justice KV Viswanathan

Gyanvi Khanna

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