No delay in filing review plea: Ministers

Union Ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Thawar Chand Gehlot on Monday hailed the government’s decision to file a review petition against the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The court ruling was aimed at preventing misuse of the law. Under the existing provisions, merely filing a complaint under the Act empowers the police to immediately arrest an accused without preliminary investigation.

The 11-day delay in filing the review petition was because of the long weekend, the Ministers said.

“The decision was taken eight days ago. There was never any delay. The Supreme Court was shut due to multiple holidays,” Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said.

Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan also said that it was not a significant delay.

“Eleven days is not a long time. The government can’t act in haste. They need to study the judgment. And anyway it is the Supreme Court order, not the government’s directions,” he said.

‘Congress politicising issue’

He also lashed out at the Congress. “Why is the Congress politicising the issue. It has always insulted Babasaheb Ambedkar and never allowed him to get elected to the Lok Sabha. Till 1990, it did not allow his portrait in Parliament. It did not even give him Bharat Ratna.”

Mr. Paswan had earlier said the government needed to correct its perception of being anti-Dalit by publicising the work it was doing.