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SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
April 4 , 2018
2300 days
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- In an attempt to curb the misuse of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989) and protect honest public servants Supreme Court gave following verdict,
- An arrest is not mandatory under the SC/ST Act, and the automatic arrest has been scrapped.
- The court further directed that public servants can only be arrested with the written permission of their appointing authority.
- This was to protect public servants and private employees from arbitrary arrests under the Atrocities Act.
- Supreme Court also ruled that before arresting a public servant under the Act, a preliminary investigation by an officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent is a must.
- Union law ministry is preparing to file a review petition against the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 that puts a stop to immediate arrests in complaints filed under its provisions.
- Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was enacted in the year 1989.
SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
- It is a comprehensive law which not only defines atrocities against SCs and STs but also make several rules, regulations etc. for proper protection of these vulnerable classes.
- One of the provisions of the law states that public servant (non SC/ST) neglecting his duties related to SCs/STs will be punished with imprisonment for a term of 6 months to 1 year.
- Ministry of Social Justice is the nodal ministry to enforce the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
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