SC amends its 2018 verdict on SC/ST Act on Centre's plea - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

SC amends its 2018 verdict on SC/ST Act on Centre's plea.

A three-judge bench today set aside the order and observed that the apex court should not have ventured to frame guidelines as it comes within the domain of legislatures.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed its own verdict which introduced measures like prior inquiry before the arrest of an accused under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), 1989.
A three-judge bench today set aside the order and observed that the apex court should not have ventured to frame guidelines as it comes within the domain of legislatures. "SC/ST have been outcasts for centuries, and untouchability has not vanished yet. They still remain 'Harijan', a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said today."
The court said that people belonging to SC /ST communities continue to be abused and discriminated and be socially outcast. It justified the protective Act saying that the abuse of the Act cannot be a ground to dilute its provisions.
The apex court recalled directions which mandated prior sanction for the arrest of public servants and private persons. The court also did away with the requirement of preliminary inquiry before registering FIR. Citing social discrimination faced by the backward classes, the court pointed out that Article 15 carves out special provisions.
The cloud of doubt on SC/ST was termed as 'human failings' by the court.
The Centre had filed a review petition in the court and pressed for the restoration of the stringent provisions. It had asked the court to review its 2018 order that diluted the provisions of SC/ST Act, calling it 'against the spirit of the Constitution'.
A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, MR Shah and BR Gavai had on September 18 reserved its verdict saying the misuse of the law did not mean that it should be diluted.
In March 2018, the Supreme Court had set in place guidelines to prevent the misuse of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocity) Act in which immediate arrest on complaints filed under the act was stopped. The judgment had led to a political uproar with many Dalit outfits targeting the Modi government alleging it did not defend the rights of the SC/ST communities in the Supreme Court. (Source: The Hindu)


The above Article can also be read using the link below:

SC amends its 2018 verdict on SC/ST Act on Centre's plea.

Centre amends rules for minorities from three nations - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Centre amends rules for minorities from three nations.

Citizenship form will have a separate column for them.

The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, is pending in Parliament, but the Union Home Ministry has notified amendments to the Citizenship Rules, 2009, to include a separate column in the citizenship form for applicants belonging to six minority communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Under the amendments, a separate entry in the form will ask the applicant: “Do you belong to one of the minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Sikhs and Christians?” The Centre has made the changes under Section 18 of the Citizenship Act, 1955. New rules were notified on December 3.
A parliamentary committee has been examining the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, that proposes citizenship to six persecuted minorities — Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists — from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who came to India before 2014. It has run into strong resistance in the BJP-ruled Assam because it will pave the way for giving citizenship mostly to illegal Hindu migrants from Bangladesh in Assam, who came after March 1971, in violation of the 1985 Assam Accord.
Excluded from NRC
Around 40 lakh people in Assam have been excluded from the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) published on July 30. Last month, the Home Ministry re-notified rules empowering 44 Collectors in seven States, except Assam, to accept online applications from those belonging to the six communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
These rules were first notified in 2015.
Rajendra Agarwal, BJP MP and chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, told The Hindu that the Home Ministry had to carry out day-to-day works and the amended rules would benefit those who escaped persecution. “The amended rules are not in violation of the work of the parliamentary committee. It is done to provide relief to the people. The decision to grant them citizenship will be cleared by Parliament,” he said.
Since 2011, nearly 30,000 Pakistanis, mostly Hindus, have been granted long-term visas.(Source: The Hindu)


The above Article can also be read using the link below:

Centre amends rules for minorities from three nations.