Bill to restore SC/ST Act teeth

Cabinet plans to undo SC ruling that did away with immediate arrest provision

With an eye on the Dalit vote bank, the Centre on Wednesday decided to nullify the Supreme Court order that has struck down the provision of immediate arrest under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The Union Cabinet has decided to introduce an amendment Bill in Parliament  to restore the stringent provision of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and do away with the safeguards ordered by the apex court against immediate arrest.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the amendment Bill will be introduced “very shortly” in Parliament.

Section 18 and 18A of the Act have been reintroduced in the Bill restoring the power of investigating officer to arrest an accused without preliminary enquiry. The amendment Bill also retains the earlier provision that Section 438 of the CrPC will not applicable to the SC & ST Act. Section 438 of the CrPC deals with the right of accused persons to get bail.

In March, the apex court bench headed by Justice Adarsh Goel and UU Lalit passed a judgment preventing immediate arrest and making bail provisions in the Act. On August 3, the apex court is set to hear the Centre’s plea to restore the stringent provisions of the Act.

The court had issued a set of guidelines to protect citizens from arbitrary arrests under the atrocities Act. The court had said police must obtain written permission of their appointing authority before carrying out any arrest. In the case of private employees, the Senior Superintendent of Police must carry out a preliminary enquiry and give consent for arrest.

Besides this precaution, a preliminary enquiry should be conducted before the FIR is registered to check whether the case falls within the parameters of the Act and if it is frivolous or motivated, the SC had ruled.

The court had said, “The Act cannot be converted into a charter for exploitation or oppression by any unscrupulous person or by police for extraneous reasons against other citizens. Any harassment of an innocent citizen, irrespective of caste or religion, is against the guarantee of the Constitution. This court must enforce such a guarantee. Law should not result in caste hatred.”

BJP ally and Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan and Ramdas Athawale have been mounting pressure on the Modi Government to  bring a new law to overturn the court order. Several ruling party MPs belonging to Dalit and tribal communities had also backed the demand. Paswan even demanded the ouster of Justice Adarsh Goel from the post of chief of the  National Green Tribunal.

The Centre’s decision to introduce an amendment  Bill  has also come against the backdrop of “Bharat bandh” call given by several Dalit groups on August 9.

Soon after the judgment in March, there were widespread protests across the country.