Sections 22 and 23: Good-Faith Protection and the Rules

The Act asks public servants to act quickly and firmly: register the FIR without enquiry, arrest where necessary, extern a likely offender, cancel arms licences, impose collective fines. Section 22 protects those who do so honestly from being dragged into suits and prosecutions for it, while leaving no shelter for those who act in bad faith. Section 23 gives the Central Government power to make rules, and it is through the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995, with their major amendments of 2016 and 2018, that most of the Act's machinery actually runs. This note explains the good-faith protection, the line between good faith and mala fides, the rule-making power and its parliamentary control, and the structure and history of the Rules.

Figure 1: Good faith under Section 22, and where protection ends

1. Section 22: Protection of Action Taken in Good Faith

Who is protected

• The Central Government and the State Government. For measures under the Act, such as notifications, schemes and collective fines.
• Any officer or authority of Government. Police officers who register FIRs and arrest, magistrates who take preventive action, officials who pay relief or cancel arms licences.
• Any other person. Persons who are not government officers but act under the Act. This may include, for example, members of vigilance and monitoring committees or advocates engaged under Rule 4(5); the test is whether the act was done under the Act.

What is protected

• Anything done or intended to be done under this Act. The act must be done under the Act, not merely at the same time. 'Intended to be done' covers acts that were meant to be done under the Act but turn out to be irregular or outside its strict terms.
• From what. Suits (civil claims for damages), prosecutions, and other legal proceedings.

Meaning of good faith

• The penal law standard. Section 2(1)(f) of the Act gives undefined words the meaning they have in the Penal Code, the Evidence Act or the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Penal Code defined 'good faith' in Section 52: nothing is done in good faith which is done without due care and attention. The same definition is now in Section 2(11) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Read through Section 2(1)(f), this is arguably the standard for Section 22.
• The general standard. The General Clauses Act, Section 3(22), treats a thing as done in good faith where it is in fact done honestly, whether negligently or not. It is more lenient.
• The practical core. Under either standard, honesty is essential. An officer who acts dishonestly, for a collateral purpose, or to favour one party is outside the protection.

Good faith versus mala fide conduct

• Good faith. An officer registers an FIR on a complaint that discloses an offence, arrests on reasonable grounds, and the accused is later acquitted. The acquittal does not show bad faith.
• Mala fides. An officer registers a false FIR to settle a personal score, or refuses to register a genuine one to protect a relative. The act is not 'under this Act' in good faith, and no protection follows.
• Burden. Good faith is a question of fact. Official acts carry a presumption of regularity, so a person alleging mala fides must make specific allegations and prove them; the officer may then have to show that he acted honestly and with care.
• Link with Section 4. Wilful neglect of duty under Section 4 is, by definition, not good faith. Section 22 protects honest action; Section 4 punishes deliberate inaction. The two sit side by side.
• Link with Section 3(2)(vi) and (vii). A public servant who destroys evidence to screen an offender, or himself commits an atrocity, cannot claim Section 22.

Few reported decisions turn on Section 22 directly. Courts decide such pleas using the general law on good-faith protection clauses, which is similar across statutes: the protection is a shield for honest action, not a licence.

2. Section 23: Power to Make Rules

The Central Government’s power

• Who. The Central Government, not the States. This gives the Act uniform standards across India, which States implement under Section 21.
• For what. 'For carrying out the purposes of this Act'. The power is general; Section 21(1) also makes the State's duty 'subject to such rules as the Central Government may make'.
• Limits. Rules are subordinate legislation. They must stay within the Act and cannot override it or add new offences; a rule inconsistent with the Act would be ultra vires.

Laying before Parliament

Every rule must be laid before both Houses while in session for a total of thirty days, in one or more sessions. If both Houses agree to modify or annul it before the end of the following session, it takes effect only as modified or not at all, without affecting anything already done under it. This is the 'negative' laying procedure: the rule operates from notification unless Parliament acts against it. It keeps rule-making under legislative watch without requiring every rule to be approved.

3. The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995

Figure 2: The architecture of the Rules

The Rules were notified on 31 March 1995. They contain eighteen main rules and annexures. The key rules, discussed in earlier topics, are:

• Prevention. Rule 3 (preventive measures), Rule 8 (SC/ST Protection Cell), Rule 15 (contingency plan).
• Prosecution. Rule 4 (panels of prosecutors, reviews, eminent senior advocate at the victim's request).
• Police. Rule 5 (recording information and giving a free copy), Rule 6 (spot inspection by senior officers), Rule 7 (investigation by an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent, charge-sheet within sixty days, delay explained in writing).
• Officers. Rule 9 (nodal officer), Rule 10 (special officer), Rule 13 (selection of officers and staff with the right aptitude and understanding of the problems of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes).
• Relief. Rule 11 (travel, daily allowance, maintenance), Rule 12 (district measures and relief within seven days), Annexure I (norms for relief), Annexure II (guidelines for evaluating disability).
• Monitoring. Rule 14 (State responsibility and reviews), Rules 16, 17 and 17A (State, District and Sub-Divisional Vigilance and Monitoring Committees), Rule 18 (material for the annual report).

Rules with teeth: Rule 7

The Supreme Court has treated Rule 7 as mandatory. Investigation of an offence under the Act by an officer not appointed in terms of Rule 7, that is, below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, is illegal and invalid for the offences under the Act, though penal offences investigated by a competent officer can still be tried (State of M.P. v. Chunnilal, 2009; State of M.P. v. Babbu Rathore, 2020).

4. Amendments to the Rules

Figure 3: The SC/ST (PoA) Rules, 1995: from notification to the 2018 amendment

Before 2016

• 2011. Relief norms were revised upward, to a range of about 50,000 rupees to 5,00,000 rupees.
• 2013 and 2014. Rule 17A introduced Sub-Divisional Vigilance and Monitoring Committees (2013). In 2014, relief norms were revised again and the composition of the District and Sub-Divisional committees was changed.

The 2016 Amendment Rules (14 April 2016)

Notified to give effect to the 2015 Amendment Act, these were the most important changes since 1995:

• Relief. Annexure I was recast to cover forty-seven kinds of offences, including the new ones, with relief ranging from 85,000 rupees to 8,25,000 rupees depending on the offence, and payable within seven days.
• Investigation. Rule 7(2) requires the charge-sheet to be filed within sixty days, a period that includes investigation, and Rule 7(2A) requires any delay to be explained in writing.
• Prosecution. Rule 4 was reworked to provide for panels, reviews of Special Public Prosecutors and monthly reports, including on the implementation of Chapter IVA.
• Victims' rights. New duties in Rules 8, 9 and 10 to implement the rights of victims and witnesses under Section 15A.
• Committees. Review of the victims' rights scheme under Section 15A(11) was added to the agendas of the State, District and Sub-Divisional committees, which already met twice a year (State, in January and July) and once every three months (District and Sub-Divisional).

The 2018 Amendment Rules (27 June 2018)

• Definition. A definition of 'voluntarily' was added.
• Relief in addition to compensation. Rule 12(5), which since 1995 made relief for death, injury and damage to property additional to any other claim for compensation, was extended to rape, gang rape, unnatural offences and acid attack.
• State committee. The cap on the number of members of the State Vigilance and Monitoring Committee was removed.

5. Quick Revision and Memory Aids

• 'Honest shield, not a licence'. Section 22 protects good-faith action; mala fide action gets no protection.
• 'Due care versus honesty'. Penal Code and BNS standard versus General Clauses Act standard.
• 'Centre makes, Parliament watches'. Section 23(1) and (2).
• 'Thirty days, negative laying'. Rules operate unless both Houses modify or annul them.
• '95, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18'. Rules notified, then amended.
• '47, 7, 60'. The 2016 package: forty-seven relief heads, seven-day relief, sixty-day charge-sheet.

6. Frequently Asked Questions

Can a police officer be sued for arresting a person who was later acquitted of an atrocity charge?

Not if he acted in good faith under the Act. Section 22 bars suits and prosecutions for good-faith acts. If he acted mala fide, the protection does not apply.

Does Section 22 protect an officer who refused to register an FIR?

No, if the refusal was wilful. Deliberate neglect is not good faith, and Section 4 punishes it, after an administrative enquiry.

Can State Governments make their own rules under the Act?

No. Section 23 gives the rule-making power to the Central Government. States issue schemes, notifications and contingency plans within the Rules.

Can a rule add a new offence?

No. Rules are for carrying out the purposes of the Act and cannot create offences or override it.

What happens if Parliament annuls a rule?

It ceases to have effect from then, but things already done under it remain valid.

7. Related Topics and Provisions

• Topic 26: Section 4. Wilful neglect by public servants.
• Topic 37: Section 21. The duties that the Rules carry out.
• Topics 31 to 33. Rules 3, 4, 8 and 11 to 17A in detail.
• Sections 2(1)(f), 22, 23; SC/ST (PoA) Rules, 1995; BNS s.2(11); General Clauses Act s.3(22). The provisions discussed