Pleas Challenging Amendments in SC/ST Act Rejected, Primary Investigation Not Necessary

Last updated Feb 11, 2020

New Delhi : The Supreme Court has rejected the pleas challenging the validity of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act 2018 (SC / ST Act). The Supreme Court has now made it clear that there is no need for a preliminary inquiry before arrest under this law. The court also said that it would not be mandatory to get permission from any authority before registering an FIR in such cases. At the same time, the court said that for the cancellation of FIR against himself, the accused person can go to the court.

Supreme Court upholds the constitutional validity of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018 that ruled out any provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs. pic.twitter.com/C2LMBwZiO8
— ANI (@ANI) February 10, 2020

In the year 2018, after the Supreme Court’s decision on the SC/ST Act, the Modi government made several amendments in this law. The bench of Justices Arun Mishra, Justice Vineet Saran and Justice Ravindra Bhat upheld these amendments and clarified that it would not be mandatory to seek permission from any authority before filing an FIR in such cases.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had said in its decision on 20 March 2018 that under the SC-ST Act, arrest cannot be done without investigation. After the Supreme Court’s decision on this act, there were protests across the country, after which the Narendra Modi government of the Center made several amendments in this law.

The Central Government had also filed a review petition, disagreeing with the decision of the two-judge bench of the Supreme Court.