August 6, 2018:

The Bill rules out any provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs.

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a Bill to overturn a Supreme Court order concerning certain safeguards against arrest under the SC/ST law.

The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill 2018, which was passed unanimously, rules out any provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs, notwithstanding any court order.

The Bill 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 move to amend the Bill is being seen by the Opposition as a reach-out by the BJP-led NDA government to woo Dalits, ahead of their proposed nationwide protest later this month to demand restoration of the provisions of the law which, the Dalit groups allege, were diluted by a Supreme Court ruling of March 20.

These SC/ST 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.

Gehlot said after the Supreme Court put some restrictions on Article 18 of this Act, the law lost its importance.

Citing National Crime Record Bureau data, he said in the last four years, there was a 40 per cent increase in atrocities against Dalits. “Every minute a dalit suffers atrocities. In every week, 11 dalit gets killed, but unfortunately the conviction rate is too low,” he said.

Source PTI

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