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Cabinet clears Bill to restore the provisions of SC/ST Act
Why it is in news?
- The Centre has decided to introduce a Bill to restore the original provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 which the Supreme Court had struck down in a March ruling.
- The Union Cabinet had given its nod to the Amendment Bill and the government would try to introduce it in Parliament during the ongoing session.
- The decision comes ahead of a planned ‘Bharat bandh’ by Dalit groups on August 9.
Amendment Bill
- The Amendment Bill seeks to insert three new clauses after Section 18 of the original Act.
- The first stipulates that for the purposes of the Act, “preliminary enquiry shall not be required for registration of a First Information Report against any person.”
- The second stipulates that the arrest of a person accused of having committed an offence under the Act would not require any approval.
- The third says that the provisions of Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which deals with anticipatory bail shall not apply to a case under this Act, “notwithstanding any judgment or order of any Court.”
Source
The Hindu