Parliament Monsoon Session: Bill to restore original SC/ST atrocity law to be taken up for discussion in Lok Sabha today

The Lok Sabha on Monday will take up for discussion a bill to amend the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, seeking to overturn the Supreme Court order that laid down certain safeguards in the law to prevent atrocities against people of scheduled castes and tribes. The bill was introduced in the Lower House of the Parliament on Friday. The move is being seen as a reach-out by the BJP-led NDA government to Dalits, days ahead of their proposed 9 August nationwide protest with the key demand to restore the provisions of the law. [caption id=“attachment_4878401” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of the Lok Sabha. PTI[/caption] 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. Dalit groups have been asking the government to overturn a Supreme Court ruling of 20 March, saying it had “diluted” and rendered “toothless” the law against atrocities faced by the weakest sections of the society by putting additional safeguards against arrest of the accused. The nationwide protest of Dalits on 20 April had turned violent in several states, leaving at least 12 dead, while call has been given for another ‘Bharat Bandh’ on 19 August with several Opposition parties also offering their support this time. With inputs from PTI