A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the amendments to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in 2018 were constitutionally valid, dismissing pleas against it.
The bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra,Vineet Sarana and Ravindra Bhat was hearing pleas challenging the amendments to the SC/ST Act, that effectively ruled out any provision for anticipatory bail to persons accused of crimes against the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The amendments stated that no preliminary inquiry would be needed to register a criminal case under the SC/ST Act.
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the provisions for anticipatory bail are to be exercised sparingly and in "exceptional cases" where no prima facie case has been made out.
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The Central government had moved the amendments to the SC/ST Act after a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court had ruled in March 2018 that there should not be any 'automatic' arrest of people accused of crimes under the SC/ST Ac. The Centre soon filed a review petition over the ruling as protests broke out across the country with dalit groups angry at the verdict.
However, the Centre's amendments had angered some upper-caste organisations, which alleged the SC/ST Act had been misused. The lawyers for the petitioners contended that the amendments were violative of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. The petitioners argued that birth in an upper caste was being used as grounds for presumption of guilt in cases filed under SC/ST Act.