On MARCH 20, 2018, The Supreme Court issued several guidelines to prevent misuse of The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 which according to several persons will dilute the SC-ST Act as there are several reports stating the same.
This big judgment of the Apex court has now banned automatic arrests and registration of cases for alleged harassment of SCs and STs and before we proceed further we should have a look at what the Apex Court actually said. You can read the whole Judgment Here
Several Dalit Activists, BSP Leaders have called Bharat Bandh against this alleged dilution of the SC/ST Act. This makes the issue more serious as it is going to effect the nation as a whole. Not just this, The Centre for Dalit Rights (CDR) has suggested that the government should bring an ordinance to nullify the adverse rules of the court order or take steps to refer this matter before a larger bench of the Apex Court as reported by The Hindu on 24th of March, 2018 in the article titled "Dalit group seeks review of SC verdict"
However, I am of the view that calling for the Bandh is really not that sensible move. Yes, you may protest peacefully but every person has his own perspective and his point of view for sure. The Judgment is not totally one sided.
The Apex Court has not imposed a Total Ban on arrests and registration of cases under the SC-ST Act but instead efforts are being made to curb false and frivolous cases where offence is not even prima facie made out.
After this Big and Historic case, the procedure in the cases that will be registered under the SC-ST Act or the Atrocities Act will become a little complex and any arrest will be done only after the approval of the appointing authority in case of a Public servant and the SSP in other cases.
Another point is, In all such cases the SSP shall record reasons in doing so and the Magistrate shall scrutinize the same for permitting further detention of the accused.
But still, Review Petition is a must. So that, All the possible views can be taken into consideration as the matter is of national importance and is concerned with the several oppressed classes. It cannot be denied that these people have been subjected to cruelty in the name of caste and religion.
As the several reports suggests, Central government will file the review petition before the Apex Court. I believe that, with this the matter will be discussed in a more better way and we will surely see some landmark decision on the issue which will create a perfect balance so that no person from SC-ST community is harassed and also no innocent person is falsely implicated in a false and frivolous case.
The Apex Court has not imposed a Total Ban on arrests and registration of cases under the SC-ST Act but instead efforts are being made to curb false and frivolous cases where offence is not even prima facie made out.
After this Big and Historic case, the procedure in the cases that will be registered under the SC-ST Act or the Atrocities Act will become a little complex and any arrest will be done only after the approval of the appointing authority in case of a Public servant and the SSP in other cases.
Another point is, In all such cases the SSP shall record reasons in doing so and the Magistrate shall scrutinize the same for permitting further detention of the accused.
But still, Review Petition is a must. So that, All the possible views can be taken into consideration as the matter is of national importance and is concerned with the several oppressed classes. It cannot be denied that these people have been subjected to cruelty in the name of caste and religion.
As the several reports suggests, Central government will file the review petition before the Apex Court. I believe that, with this the matter will be discussed in a more better way and we will surely see some landmark decision on the issue which will create a perfect balance so that no person from SC-ST community is harassed and also no innocent person is falsely implicated in a false and frivolous case.
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