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Atrocity Justice: the conviction gap

Of every 100 atrocity cases that reach the courts in a year, how many end in a conviction, how many in an acquittal, and how many are still waiting at the year’s end?

By The Dalit ProjectUPDATED OCTOBER 8, 2026

The figures cover crimes against Scheduled Castes (the official list of Dalit communities under India’s Constitution) that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) counts as atrocities: cases under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, including those booked with penal code sections alongside it. Cases booked under the penal code alone are not counted. It gives figures for India and for each State and Union Territory (UT).

Convicted, of every 100 cases before the courts, 2024
1.6
NCRB conviction rate, trials that finished, 2024
33.9%
Cases still pending at the end of 2024
339,853

  1. Exhibit 1

    Of every 100 cases before the courts in 2024, 2 ended in conviction and 95 were still pending at the year’s end

    Crimes against Scheduled Castes, all India, cases before the courts in 2024 (357,009), by where each stood at the year’s end.

    ConvictedConvictedAcquitted or dischargedAcquitted or dischargedAcquitted or dischargedStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year endStill pending at year end
    Cases before the courts in 2024: 357,009
    At year endCasesOf 100
    Convicted5,7572
    Acquitted or discharged11,2163
    Ended without trial1830
    Still pending at year end339,85395

    Note: NCRB’s own conviction rate counts only trials that finished. This grid counts every case before the courts, so it also shows the cases left waiting.

    Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Crime in India 2024, Table 7A.6: crimes against Scheduled Castes. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 8 Oct 2026.

  2. Exhibit 2

    NCRB’s conviction rate was 33.9% in 2024; counted across every case before the courts, 1.6% ended in conviction

    Two conviction measures, all India, 2015 to 2024, per cent. NCRB’s rate counts only trials that finished.

    Note: Read across years with care: 2015 and 2016 come from different NCRB tables, and 2024 counts crimes under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) instead of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

    Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Crime in India, 2015 to 2024 editions. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 8 Oct 2026.

  3. Exhibit 3

    The backlog grew every year: cases still pending at the year’s end went from 113,393 in 2015 to 339,853 in 2024

    Cases before the courts still pending trial on 31 December, all India, 2015 to 2024.

    Note: 2024 counts crimes under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) instead of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), so it may not compare directly with earlier years. A rising count can also mean more cases registered, not only slower courts: NCRB counts what the police register.

    Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Crime in India, 2015 to 2024 editions. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 8 Oct 2026.

  4. Exhibit 4

    Of 357,009 cases before the courts in 2024, 16,973 finished trial and 5,757 ended in conviction

    Crimes against Scheduled Castes, all India, 2024: each stage as a count of cases.

    1. Before the courts357,009
      Carried over from earlier years plus newly sent for trial.
    2. Trial finished16,973
      The rest: 339,853 still pending, 183 ended without a trial.
    3. Convicted5,757
      The rest of the finished trials, 11,216, ended in acquittal or discharge.

    Note: The cases before the courts include cases carried over from earlier years, so the year’s convictions are not only of cases sent for trial that year.

    Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Crime in India 2024, Table 7A.6: crimes against Scheduled Castes. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 8 Oct 2026.

  5. Exhibit 5

    Five States held 75% of the cases still pending at the end of 2024

    Cases pending trial at the end of 2024, by State/UT, largest ten. Every State and UT is in the full table on The Dalit Project Data’s Atrocity Justice page.

    1. Uttar Pradesh93,689
    2. Bihar71,111
    3. Madhya Pradesh41,557
    4. Rajasthan24,469
    5. Odisha23,873
    6. Maharashtra18,389
    7. Gujarat14,134
    8. Karnataka12,062
    9. Andhra Pradesh8,118
    10. Tamil Nadu7,779

    Note: These are counts, not rates: a State that registers more cases also holds more pending ones. The share of each State’s cases still pending is on The Dalit Project Data’s Atrocity Justice page. NCRB’s note to the table: “States/UTs may not be compared purely on the basis of crime figures”.

    Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Crime in India 2024, Table 7A.6: crimes against Scheduled Castes. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 8 Oct 2026.

  6. Exhibit 6

    In 22 of 27 States and UTs, 90% or more of the cases before the courts were still pending at the end of 2024

    Share of cases before the courts still pending at the year’s end, 2024, per cent, by State/UT.

    • Under 70%
    • 70% to under 80%
    • 80% to under 90%
    • 90% to under 95%
    • 95% and over
    • Fewer than 5 cases

    Note: No share is shown where fewer than 5 cases were before the courts.

    Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Crime in India 2024, Table 7A.6: crimes against Scheduled Castes. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 8 Oct 2026.

  7. Exhibit 7

    Where trials finished, NCRB’s conviction rate ranged from 1.8% in West Bengal to 73.3% in Uttar Pradesh

    NCRB conviction rate, 2024: convictions out of trials that finished, per cent, by State/UT, highest first.

    1. Uttar PradeshAll India 33.9%73.3%
    2. Jharkhand42.2%
    3. Uttarakhand38.5%
    4. Rajasthan36.9%
    5. Bihar36.1%
    6. Madhya Pradesh35.6%
    7. Chhattisgarh30.2%
    8. Delhi23.1%
    9. Haryana18.2%
    10. Tamil Nadu11.9%
    11. Kerala10.8%
    12. Odisha10.8%
    13. Maharashtra9.3%
    14. Punjab5.7%
    15. Gujarat5.4%
    16. Himachal Pradesh4.8%
    17. Telangana3.7%
    18. Karnataka3.2%
    19. Andhra Pradesh2.4%
    20. West Bengal1.8%

    Note: States and UTs where fewer than 5 trials finished are left out. NCRB’s note to the table: “States/UTs may not be compared purely on the basis of crime figures”.

    Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Crime in India 2024, Table 7A.6: crimes against Scheduled Castes. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 8 Oct 2026.

  8. Exhibit 8

    Every State and UT: where cases before the courts stood at the end of 2024

    Counts as NCRB gives them; the bar shows cases still pending. Search for a State or UT.

    Cases before the courts by State/UT, 2024
    State/UTStill pendingBefore the courtsConvictedAcquitted or dischargedEnded without trialNCRB conviction rate
    Uttar Pradesh93,68997,9863,1501,147073.3%
    Bihar71,11171,837262464036.1%
    Madhya Pradesh41,55745,1151,2632,287835.6%
    Rajasthan24,46925,756474809436.9%
    Odisha23,87323,9781191310.8%
    Maharashtra18,38919,21475735159.3%
    Gujarat14,13414,98445790155.4%
    Karnataka12,06212,87125767173.2%
    Andhra Pradesh8,1189,12724974112.4%
    Tamil Nadu7,7798,475815981711.9%
    Telangana7,6728,761401,028213.7%
    Kerala4,5925,525978023410.8%
    Haryana3,9104,229552481618.2%
    Jharkhand2,9123,12389122042.2%
    Chhattisgarh1,8662,0054297030.2%
    West Bengal9861,04115401.8%
    Himachal Pradesh7579197138174.8%
    Delhi665680310223.1%
    Uttarakhand6636891016038.5%
    Punjab46249923325.7%
    Puducherry7676000–
    Goa3033030–
    Assam2830020–
    Jammu & Kashmir2426011–
    Mizoram77000–
    Chandigarh55000–
    Sikkim45100–
    Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu44000–
    Arunachal Pradesh33000–
    Manipur33000–
    Tripura33000–
    Meghalaya00000–
    Nagaland00000–
    Andaman and Nicobar Islands00000–
    Ladakh00000–
    Lakshadweep00000–

    Note: No conviction rate is shown where fewer than 5 trials finished. NCRB’s note to the table: “States/UTs may not be compared purely on the basis of crime figures”.

    Source: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Crime in India 2024, Table 7A.6: crimes against Scheduled Castes. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 8 Oct 2026.

About this data

What this shows
For each year from 2015 to 2024, every case of crime against Scheduled Castes before India’s courts, and where it stood at the year’s end: convicted, acquitted or discharged, ended without trial, or still pending.
Source
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs, Crime in India 2015 to 2024, Table 7.4 and Table 7A.6. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 8 Oct 2026. Every source
What it does not show
These are cases the police registered and sent to court. Cases never registered, and cases still with the police, are not in these figures.
Last updated
8 Oct 2026 · Next expected update: on release of NCRB’s Crime in India 2025
Corrections
Changelog (version 3) · Corrections policy

Sources, caveats and definitions