MPPSC 2019 Prelims Paper-I · Question 79 of 99

Correct answer (the INCORRECT statement) — B. It claims that 'Exclusive Special Court' (established under Section 14(1)) is defined in Section 2(d). But Section 2(c) of the Act defines 'Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes'. The definition of 'Exclusive Special Court' was inserted by the 2015 amendment as a separate clause of Section 2 — Section 2(bd) — alongside 'victim' (2(ec)) and 'witness'. Statement B therefore pairs the term with the wrong clause, making it the incorrect statement.

• (a)Offences, under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, are committed by a person who is not a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe — This is a TRUE statement, so it is not the answer: an 'atrocity' under the Act is, by design, an offence committed against an SC/ST member by a person who is not a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.
• (c)"Victim" is defined under Section 2 (ec) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act — This is a TRUE statement — 'victim' is indeed defined in Section 2(ec), a clause inserted by the 2015 amendment — so it is not the incorrect one.
• (d)"Dependent" is defined under Section 2(bb) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act — This is a TRUE statement — 'dependent' is defined in Section 2(bb), also inserted by the 2015 amendment — so it is not the incorrect one.

The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 (in force 26 January 2016) expanded the Act's definitions — adding 'dependent' (2(bb)), 'economic boycott' (2(bc)), 'Special Court', 'Exclusive Special Court' (2(bd)), 'victim' (2(ec)) and 'witness'. The older Section 2(c) defines 'Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes' by reference to Article 366(24) and (25).

The trap is that all four statements look like plausible section-mappings. You must remember that 2(c) is the SC/ST definition and 2(d) is 'Special Court' — the Exclusive Special Court is a separate clause, 2(bd). The victim (2(ec)) and dependent (2(bb)) mappings in the other statements are correct, which is what makes statement B stand out as the odd one.

• Section 2(c): 'Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes' (meanings taken from Article 366(24) and (25)).
• 'Dependent' — Section 2(bb); 'Victim' — Section 2(ec); both inserted by the 2015 amendment.
• 'Exclusive Special Court' is defined in Section 2(bd) and is established under Section 14(1) for speedy trial.
• An 'atrocity' is an offence committed against an SC/ST member by a person who is not from an SC/ST.

• Assuming Section 2(c) defines a court — it defines 'Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes'.
• Mixing up 'Special Court' and 'Exclusive Special Court', both dealt with under Section 14.

MPPSC likes 'which statement is incorrect' items that hinge on one wrong section-to-term pairing; verify each mapping rather than trusting the overall look.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the term 'victim' was formally defined by which change to the law?

  • (a)the original 1989 Act
  • (b)the 2015 amendment (in force 2016)
  • (c)the Code of Criminal Procedure
  • (d)it is nowhere defined

  Answer(b) the 2015 amendment inserted the definition of 'victim' (Section 2(ec)).

• practice — not a real PYQ

  An 'atrocity' under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act can be committed by:

  • (a)any person, including SC/ST members
  • (b)only a public servant
  • (c)a person who is not a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe
  • (d)only a State Government

  Answer(c) a person who is not a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.