SC/ST judgment of Supreme Court is basically wrong decision, says ex-CJI Balakrishnan

KG Balakrishnan said it is probably the first time a decision of the Supreme Court has incited violence among the people

K.G. Balakrishnan. File photo

Former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan on Friday said the controversial SC/ST verdict of the Supreme Court was “basically wrong”, as the decision will enable perpetrators to get away from the clutches of law.

Mr. Balakrishnan, the first Dalit to become CJI (January 14, 2007 to May 12, 2010) also said that this decision of the apex court has incited violence.

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“This is probably the first time a decision of the Supreme Court has incited violence among the people. Usually, when violence is there, the Supreme Court intervenes. The people used to accept the verdict.

“Now people are not in a position to accept the verdict of the highest court of the land. It is something which is strange. This we should understand. The Supreme Court should produce decisions which are acceptable to greater number of people. It should not create violence among the society,” he said.

He was delivering the presidential address at a seminar on “Supreme Court Judgement on SC/ST Causes, Effects and Solution” organised by South Asian Minorities Lawyers’ Association and Ambedkar Educational Cultural Society.

In its March 20 order , the apex court had diluted stringent provisions of the SC/ST Act mandating immediate arrest under the law in a bid to protect honest public servants discharging bona fide duties from being blackmailed with false cases.