The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Friday its verdict on the Centre's plea seeking review of its March 20, 2018, judgment that had virtually diluted provisions of arrest under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra will pronounce the verdict.
The Supreme Court had on May 1 reserved the judgment on the Centre's review plea while observing that laws in the country should be caste-neutral and uniform.
The Centre contended that the whole March 2018 verdict was "problematic" and it should be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
The verdict had led to a massive outcry and violent protests by different SC/ST organisations across the country in which several people had died and many were injured.
Some of the parties supporting the last year verdict had said that the Centre's review has become infructuous as Parliament has already passed the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018 to neutralise the effects of the judgement.
They sought a stay of the Amendment Act till the Supreme Court gives the verdict on the review plea of the Centre on the SC/ST Act.
The Supreme Court had said that if any wrong has been done in the judgment on the SC/ST Act, then it can always be corrected in the review petition.
On January 30, the Supreme Court had refused to stay amendments to the SC/ST Act that restored the no anticipatory bail provision.
Parliament on August 9 last year had passed a bill to overturn the Supreme Court order relating to certain safeguards against arrest under the SC/ST Act.
On March 20, 2018, the Supreme Court had taken note of the rampant misuse of the stringent SC/ST Act against government servants and private individuals and said there would be no immediate arrest on any complaint filed under the law.
The Supreme Court had said that on "several occasions", innocent citizens were being termed as accused and public servants deterred from performing their duties, which was never the intention of the legislature while enacting the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
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The Supreme Court had said that there is no absolute bar against grant of anticipatory bail in cases under the SC/ST Act if no prima facie case is made out or where the complaint is found to be prima facie mala fide.
It had said that in view of the acknowledged abuse of law of arrest in cases under the SC/ST Act, arrest of a public servant can only be after approval of the appointing authority and of a non-public servant after approval by the senior superintendent of police (SSP).
