The Union Cabinet gave its nod to a bill to restore the original provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the primary law on atrocities against Dalits and tribals, acceding to a key demand of Dalit groups ahead of their call for a 'Bharat Bandh' on 9 August, a top government source told PTI.
The bill to restore the original provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act will be tabled in Parliament in the ongoing Monsoon Session.
The Supreme Court, in a ruling in March, had introduced ‘safeguards’ which, Dalit leaders and organisations said, diluted the act and rendered it toothless.
BJP ally and Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan had led the call to bring a new law to overturn the court order. Several ruling party MPs belonging to Dalit and tribal communities had also backed the demand.
The court’s ruling in March had led to protests across the country by Dalit rights groups, claiming that the amended law would afford more protection to public officials if they committed offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
(With inputs from PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)