Kerala govt seeks review of apex court ruling on SC/ST Act

The state government has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court seeking to review the judgment on the amendments suggested in the SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act to prevent the misuse of it. The chief secretary filed the review petition and the state government hopes that the petition will be considered by the court when it considers the review petition filed by the Union government against the verdict.
The review petition has listed several reasons to justify amended provisions in the prevention of atrocities act and demanded that retaining the provision to arrest the accused was a necessary step to protect the SC/ST communities in the country.

It said the March 20 judgment of the court has gone against the provisions of the Act and has wide ramifications as the it had created insecurity among SC/ST people. “It is most respectfully submitted that while rendering its judgment dated 20.03.2018, the Hon'ble Court has failed to suitable / appropriately appreciate certain facts and settled principles of law. In addition, certain other facts; which would have a significant bearing on the present case, have escaped the consideration of this Hon'ble Court thereby resulting in apparent errors on the record justifying the consideration of the present Review application”, pointed out the review petition filed by the state, which also examines in detail the criminal case registered in Maharashtra that was the basis of the appeal which the SC had settled on March 20.

The detailed note in the statement of objects and reasons of the PoA Act, 1989 was quoted in the petition to assert its argument. “Despite various measures to improve the socioeconomic conditions of the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes, they remain vulnerable. When they assert their rights and resist practices of untouchability against them or demand statutory minimum wages or refuse to do any bonded and forced labour, the vested interests try to cow them down and terrorize them. Of late, there has been an increase in the disturbing trend of commission of certain atrocities like making the scheduled castes persons eat inedible substances like human excreta and attacks on and mass killings of helpless scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and rape of women belonging to the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes”, said the petition quoting from the introduction of law.

The state argued that Section 18 was the backbone of the Act as it enforces an inherent deterrence and instils sense of protection amongst members of SCs and STs. “Any dilution thereof would shake the very objective of mechanism to prevent offences of atrocities. The orders of this Hon'ble Court while seeking to protect persons, whose offences would not normally merit denial of anticipatory bail as in the instant case, would, by its uniform application cause miscarriage of justice even in deserving cases”, argued the state government in the petition.