Centre files review petition over SC/ST Act order

The Lok Sabha was informed on Monday that the Centre has filed a review petition over the Supreme Court`s order for the dilution of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. Amid protests and din in the Lower House, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the SC/ST Act was an important issue which the opposition wanted to discuss in the debate on the no confidence motion.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar informed the House that a review petition has been filed by the government. "I want to assure that the Modi government is 100 per cent on the side of the Scheduled Castes..." Kumar said amid a ruckus.

"We have already filed a review petition," he added.

On March 20, the Supreme Court ruled that the arrest of an accused under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act was not mandatory and recourse to coercive action would be only after a preliminary inquiry and sanction by the competent authority.

There was no "absolute bar against grant of anticipatory bail in cases under the Atrocities Act if no prima facie case is made out or where on judicial scrutiny the complaint is found to be prima facie mala fide", the apex court added.