Tue. Mar 19th, 2024
By Legaleagle86 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

A recent Supreme Court order which has issued certain directions for the implementation of the law protecting SC/ST communities in India has become a point of political confrontation as leaders across party lines have taken up arms against it.

The order in question is a judgement delivered by a two-judge bench earlier this week in which it said that the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is being “misused” by vested interests and, in response, the court issued certain directions for the implementation of this law.

These directions include prohibition of immediate arrest whenever a complaint is filed, consideration of anticipatory bail in favour of accused person, determination of genuineness of allegations, and imposition of duty on authorities to ensure that the law is not misused.

Immediately after this order was delivered, several Dalit MPs of various parties, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, criticized the ruling and urged the government to file a review petition against it in the Supreme Court.

They found support in two Union ministers from BJP’s alliance partners, first through Lok Janshakti Party’s Ram Vilas Paswan, and later from Republican Party of India chief Ramdas Athawale, who is also the Minister of State for Social Justice in PM Narendra Modi’s government.

Even BJP’s Thaawarchand Gehot, who heads the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, mentioned the court’s order and said he has urged the Law Ministry to study it and give its recommendations on whether the government should file a review petition against it, which looks the likely course of action right now.

The Congress party also took up this issue and criticized the Modi government for not arguing the matter effectively and leading the court to issue such an order. Other opposition parties echoed their sentiments and warned of protests if the government fails to file a review petition to get this order amended.

By dhruv