The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to stay its order on a law, which Dalits said diluted some of the provisions meant to protect them, and asked all sides to submit detailed replies within two days. The top court was hearing a review petition filed by the government on Monday against the March 20 order that banned automatic arrests and registration of criminal cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The top court, however, clarified that compensation to the victims can be given immediately at the stage of filing a complaint without registering an FIR. The court said its judgment doesn’t bar the police to register complaints for offences committed under sections of the Indian Penal Code. It said offences committed under the SC/ST act can be added later after the preliminary inquiry is over.
The court posted the matter for hearing after 10 days and said it will hear arguments on whether there can be an appointing authority to approve arrests of those facing allegations under the law. Violence erupted on Monday as protesters clashed with police, attacked buses and government property, and blockaded trains and roads across the country, including Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Bihar. The maximum deaths were reported in Madhya Pradesh, with the police saying three people were killed in Gwalior, two in Bhind and one in Morena. The protests also claimed two lives in Uttar Pradesh – one in Muzaffarnagar and another in Meerut. One person was killed in Rajasthan’s Alwar as the police opened fire to disperse a mob.
