Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday decided to file a review petition on its behalf against the recent judgment of the Supreme Court that diluted certain key provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The State government’s decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami in the Secretariat here.
According to an official release, the decision was taken “taking into account the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes” in the State. The Chief Minister has instructed for “immediate” filing of the review plea “on behalf of Tamil Nadu government”, it added.
Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, senior Ministers, Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan and Director General of Police were among those, who were present in the meeting.
It may be recalled that Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu led by the DMK have been staging protests and agitations against the recent verdict of the apex court, claiming that its judgement had diluted key provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes jointly constitute about 20% of the population in Tamil Nadu, according to 2011 Census.
The Supreme Court guidelines, which several Dalit groups claimed allegedly diluted the stringency of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, led to a nationwide shutdown on April 2. Violence during the protests that day saw several people killed and scores injured.
The Centre has already filed a plea seeking review of the Supreme Court directive in the wake of large-scale protests by Dalit organisations.
