NEW DELHI: The Congress today demanded that the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act be included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to insulate it from legal challenge.
A bill to amend the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, to overturn the Supreme Court order that laid down certain safeguards in the law to prevent atrocities against people of scheduled castes and tribes, was introduced in Lok Sabha on Friday.
Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters here that the Congress’s demand is that the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act be put in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, otherwise courts will continue to interfere.
Dalit groups have been asking the Government to overturn a Supreme Court ruling of March 20, 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 bill introduced by the Government 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 inquiry will be required for registering a criminal case and an arrest under this law would not be subject to any approval. (AGENCIES)
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