Only 9.6 percent of the cases which were filed under Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, which deals with untouchability and related offences, ended in conviction in 2012, as per a report tabled in the Parliament by the ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
However the conviction rate under the Act, though better than 2012, was not too high in the preceding years either, the data contained in the report showed.
In 2011, 15.9 of the decided cases ended in conviction while the figure for 2010 was 21.5 percent.
The report which relied on data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) said the number of cases registered under the PCR Act had also come down to 64 in 2012 from 74 in 2011 and 148 in 2010.
The Union Territory of Puducherry alone registered 20 cases under the Act in the PCR Act in 2012.
Among the states Karnataka had registered the highest 12 cases under the Act in 2012. The states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu registered nine such cases each while six cases were lodged in Maharashtra.
Amongst other states which registered cases under the Act during the year 2012 were Himachal Pradesh (3), Gujarat (2), and one each in Goa, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh.
