Protests by SC/STs to revoke the SC Verdict on SC/ST Act
iasparliament
May 04, 2018
What is the issue?
Recently, the Supreme Court altered some provisions of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act which triggered a controversy.
This is seen as a retrospective move and protests are being held all over the country.
What was the SC verdict on SC/ST Act about?
The SC in pretext of protecting innocent non-SC persons from being victimised by false complaints under the SC/ST Act laid down three guidelines that nullify key provisions of SC/ST law.
It removed the bar on grant of anticipatory bail for public servants and when the accused is not a public servant, the police may make an arrest only after approval by a senior superintendent of police.
The SC also held that before registering an FIR, the police may conduct a preliminary inquiry to ascertain the veracity of the complaint. Click here to more about this issue.
What are the implications for SC/STs due to this verdict?
The SC/ST Act held enormous significance for those people not due to the protection it offered from caste injustice, but because it’s very existence is a testament to SC/STs in a dense casteist society.
This original mandate was neatly reversed with those three changes made by SC in the SC/ST Act.
By which,instead of immediately registering an FIR and investigating the accused, the police would doubt the victim and investigate the complaint for veracity.
What are the demands by these protestors?
To address the concerns regarding the verdict and its future implications, dalits and Adivasis protested all over the country.
They demanded the government to -
Neutralise the Supreme Court order through an ordinance that would reinstate both the SC/ST Act and the SC/ST Amendment Act, 2015, in their original form
Include both these laws in the Ninth Schedule to protect them from judicial review
Release all the Dalits arrested when a ‘Bharat Bandh’ was observed to protest this Supreme Court order
The future of justice for the SC/STs lies in steps of government to understand the complex setup of casteism and provide security for all sects of people.
