The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra on February 10 has ratified the constitutional validity of the SC/ST Amendment Act, 2018. It has said that ‘a court can grant anticipatory bail only in cases where a prima facie case is not made out.’
Crux of the Matter
The SC gave its verdict on the multiple Public Interest Litigations which had challenged the validity of the SC/ST Amendment Act of 2018. The Central government had filed a review petition before the SC asking to review its order passed on March 20, 2018. Justice Arun Mishra has said that a preliminary inquiry is not essential before lodging an FIR under the act. The approval of senior police officials is also not needed. Justice Ravindra Bhat said, “every citizen needs to treat fellow citizens equally and foster the concept of fraternity.” Justice Bhat also added that the court can quash the FIR if a prima facie case is not made out under the SC/ST Act and the liberal use of anticipatory bail will defeat the intention of Parliament. The PIL’s argued that the amendment violates the ‘basic principles of liberty and accountability’. And it was alleged to be used to harass citizens by arresting them on the basis of mere allegations as it has excluded Section 438 of CrPC, violating the constitution under Articles 14 and 21.
What was the 2018 Amendment to the SC/ST Act? In August 2018, the parliament passed the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Amendment Bill, 2018, which laid down procedures for arrests under the Act bypassing the ruling of the Supreme Court. The amendment ruled out any provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs. The bill inserted section 18A (1) (a) that said, “a preliminary inquiry shall not be required for registration of an FIR against any person.” The Bill also added a section 18A (1) (b), that said, “the investigating officer shall not require approval for the arrest, if necessary, of any person against whom an accusation of having committed an offense under this Act has been made and no procedure, other than that provided under this Act or the Code, shall apply.”
Curiopedia
Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is the Act that prevents atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. It was enacted as the provisions of the existing laws (such as the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 and Indian Penal Code) were found to be inadequate to check crimes on minorities.
The post-Independence era was marked by frequent instances of atrocities which included assassination of the young, educated Dalit leader in Tamil Nadu, the Kilavenmani massacre of 42 Dalits in 1968 in Tamil Nadu; the killing of Dalit Kotesu in 1969 in Andhra Pradesh, massacres of SCs at Belchi in 1979 and at Pipra in 1980 and many more across the nation.
After continued pressure from Dalit MPs and political leaders, the magnitude and gravity of the problem were finally recognized by the then PM Rajiv Gandhi and in his Independence Day address of 1987, he announced that an Act would be passed to check atrocities. More Info
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