MADURAI
Welcoming the recent Supreme Court verdict on the The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, A. Kathir, Executive Director of Evidence, an NGO, said it was a big relief to the community.
Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, he said an order by a division bench of the apex court some time ago came as a rude shock to the SCs. The judgement claimed 11 lives and resulted in pandemonium in Parliament. The order diluted the Act. Hence, NGOs, who fought against atrocities meted out to Dalits across the country, expressed concern and pressed for recall of the order.
Mr. Kathir said Justice A.K. Goel and Justice U.U. Lalit passed the order in the case of Subash Kashinath Mahajan Vs State of Maharashtra that the police should register a case under SC/ST Act only after a thorough probe into the complaint as there were rising charges of misuse of the Act.
This judgement was aimed at diluting the objective of the Act. Mr. Kathir said the withdrawal of the order by a three-judge bench comprising Justices Arun Misra, M.R. Shah and V.R. Govai now had come as a fillip to the downtrodden.
The Evidence demanded stringent measures against offenders under the Act. Mr. Kathir said in 2016, 40,801 cases were registered in the country for crimes against the SC/STs. However, in Tamil Nadu, only 1,291 cases were registered.
