Thiruvananthapuram: A day after Supreme Court’s assertion that it had not diluted the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the State Legislature unanimously passed a resolution in the Assembly on Wednesday urging the Centre to seek all legal means available to fight the verdict, and also to initiate legislation to overcome its negative impact.
The resolution, which was read out by SC/ST minister A.K. Balan in the Assembly on Wednesday, said that Section 3 of the 1989 Act viewed atrocities against backward sections seriously, and had laid down stringent punishment for violations. And if public servants fail in their duty towards the backward sections, section 4 of the Act prescribes tough penal action.
Further, as per Section 18 of the Act, the accused have no right to anticipatory bail. The resolution said that the SC order had diluted this provision.
According to the SC order, if the accused is a public servant his arrest would require the sanction of a higher official; if a non-government official, the sanction of the district police superintendent is necessary. To grant the sanction, the higher official or the superintendent of police has to furnish definite reasons. What’s more, these reasons should be vetted by a magistrate.
The order has created deep concern among the SC and ST population in the country, the resolution said.
“I have already registered the state government’s deep concern and strong disapproval of the SC order in a letter to the Union social justice minister Thawar Chand Gehlot and Union minister for tribal affairs Jual Oram,” Mr Balan read out as part of the resolution.
“A situation exists where those involved in atrocities against SC and ST sections get off the hook during the trial stage using a multitude of influences,” the resolution said. It said that the Act’s denial of anticipatory bail did act as deterrent against violence. “It is this legal protection that the SC had now taken away,” the resolution said.
