There is no chance that the SC/ST Act will ever be seen as effective legislation. Discrimination against tribes and Dalits is still present. The misuse of the Act's authority against innocent persons, on the other hand, is a legitimate worry.
The SC/ST Act is being used as a "blackmail" instrument by some people, according to the Supreme Court of India, to exact "vengeance" and advance their own objectives.
Despite statutes like the Protection of Civil Rights Act of 1955 and the IPC intended to safeguard them, crimes against SCs and STs continued unabated.
In reaction to this situation, the Parliament passed the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (POA) in 1989. The POA's principal objective is to vigorously fight justice on behalf of SC and ST people so they can live honorable and successful lives.
Caste has historically been the most important part of Indian religion and social life. Prior to caste becoming hereditary and permanent, a person's status was decided by their employment.
The caste structure allowed the lower caste to be oppressed while giving the upper castes significant privileges. The fundamental right to equality (Articles 14–18) was a goal of the Indian constitution, which sought to remedy historical wrongs and provide the underprivileged with a level playing field after independence, especially Article 17, which forbade the practise of untouchability.
The Act:
Section 3(1)(x) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 contains a provision that is subject to abuse. The provisions of this section shall apply to the willful intimidation or insult of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe member in a public place.
Automatic arrests under the Atrocities Act may lead to innocent persons being wrongly implicated; according to crime data, the police falsely report such instances 10% of the time.
In the vast majority of atrocities cases that the police investigate, charge papers are filed. The National Crime Records Bureau recorded 40,801 registered cases of atrocities against Scheduled castes and 6,568 registered cases of atrocities against Scheduled tribes in 2016.
The police also investigated open cases from previous years, and in 78% of cases involving Scheduled caste atrocities and 81% of cases involving Scheduled tribal atrocities, charges were brought. Given that there is evidence to support the notion that abusing this service leads to arrests and negatively affects a person's reputation in society.
The Supreme Court issued new guidelines in 2018 to prevent the "rampant misuse" of the SC-ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. This statute makes it illegal to abuse SCs and STs or other members of the untouchable community physically, verbally, or through rituals. Additional sanctions for some illegal conduct were laid out in the Act.
A two-judge panel decided in Dr. Subash Kashinath Mahajan v. the State of Maharashtra and imposed the new rules after finding that false complaints are involved in nearly one-fourth of the cases filed under the SC-ST Act.
Even though anticipatory bail is expressly prohibited by section 18 of the SC-ST Act, the issue of anticipatory bail was made permissible by the new regulations.
The Act's many benefits vastly outweigh its disadvantages. Some individuals from the outside world attempt to use legal opportunism to their advantage and include innocent people in these lawsuits.
The consequences of such circumstances, which involve fraud, severely discredit those who have been wrongly accused. The Act needs to be toned down in order to protect the Constitution's sanctity and the rights of its people.
Remedies:
Every person has a right to the protection of their life and individual freedom. Legal action will be taken in response to any infringement or breach caused by the right.
As was said before, you have the option of filing a writ petition with the Supreme Court under Article 32 and with the High Court under Article 226 alleging that any of your rights have been violated as a result of circumstances involving fake tragedies.
Under sections 499 or 500 of the Indian Penal Code, you may initiate a defamation lawsuit when the SC/ST threatens to accuse you of committing a fictitious atrocity.
To advocate your interests if a false lawsuit has been filed under the Act, hire an attorney. Lawyers can collect and represent the evidence. If the case has been filed in Kolkata then a criminal lawyer in kolkata should be appointed. Likewise, if the case relates to property and has been filed in Delhi then property lawyers in delhi should be appointed. criminal lawyer in delhi can also be appointed.
On your side, our attorneys at Lead India can launch a counterclaim. Here, you can talk to a lawyer while taking free legal advice. Ask a legal question to our attorneys to get the answers to your legal query.
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