Hyderabad:
Union Minister for Social Justice Mukul Wasnik suggested on Wednesday that the Andhra Pradesh government should consider setting up special courts to deal with cases related to atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs/STs).
The exclusive courts would help in enhancing the conviction rate, ensure speedy trial and reduce pendency, he told reporters in Hyderabad after reviewing the status of such cases.
While the conviction rate at national level was about 31 per cent under the Prevention of Atrocities Act, it was around 13 per cent in Andhra Pradesh from 2008 to 2010, he said.
The level of pendency at the national level is around 80 per cent and the pendency in Andhra Pradesh is around 70 per cent, Mr Wasnik said.
The number of incidents of atrocities on SCs/STs registered in Andhra Pradesh was 5,074 in 2010 and Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh were ahead of the state in terms of the number of cases.
At the review meeting, attended by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy among others, Mr Wasnik urged the state government to periodically hold meetings of the vigilance and monitoring committees at the state and district levels.
The minister also appreciated residential schools set up in Andhra Pradesh for providing good quality education which has resulted in the students securing admissions in prestigious institutions like IITs.