LS tables SC/ST Bill, passes National Sport University Bill

Bill to restore original SC/ST atrocity law was tabled in Lok Sabha on Friday. The Lok Sabha also passed the Bill to establish a National Sport University.

The debate on the  Bill to overturn a Supreme Court order which had laid down certain safeguards in SC/ST law to prevent atrocities against people of scheduled castes and tribes would expected to start on Monday. The Bill rules out any provision for an anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs, notwithstanding any court order, while it also provides that no preliminary enquiry will be required for registering a criminal case and an arrest under this law would not be subject to any approval.

"The principles of criminal jurisprudence and section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 as interpreted in several judgments, implies that once the investigating officer has reasons to suspect  that an offence has been committed, he can arrest an accused. "This decision to arrest or not to arrest cannot be taken away from the investigating officer," states the Bill introduced by Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot.

A Bill to establish a National Sports University in Manipur to promote sports education was passed by the Lok Sabha, as several members sought the inclusion of sports as part of a comprehensive education curriculum. The National Sports University Bill 2018, which seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated on May 31, was passed by a voice vote.

Replying to the debate on the bill which had started on August 1, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said the university would be set up in Manipur at a cost of Rs 524 crore to promote sports coaching and research.

A sportsperson will be the university vice chancellor, while its academic council will also comprise sports personalities, Rathore said. Replying to concerns raised by members during the debate on the bill, he said all medal winners in the country were funded from the National Sports Development Fund in which all citizens can contribute money. He said the government provided stipends to sportspersons, besides a variety of monthly allowances to them for food and other things. He said the Government has also increased the salary of coaches. The bill seeks to set up a specialised university in Manipur, which would be the first of its kind, to promote sports education in the areas of sports sciences, sports technology, sports management and sports coaching.