Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Indian Supreme Court’s ruling of 20 March 2018 on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act of 1989 on (a) levels of caste-based discrimination and violence in India and (b) the ability of any victims of such discriminatory or violent acts to seek legal redress in that country’s courts.

India’s Government has filed a petition to review the 20 March Supreme Court ruling. This is currently being considered. I believe it is right to let India’s executive and judiciary settle this issue within the country’s constitutional and judicial framework.

In order to support Dalit women who are victims of violence in gaining access to justice, the British Government runs programmes with local partners, including training and engaging state Criminal Justice officials across five States.