SC/ST Act Won't Be Misused, No Arrest Without Investigation in Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan
The announcment is seen as an attempt by Chouhan to placate agitating upper castes against the SC/ST Act.
Bhopal, Sep 21: Ahead of assembly elections, Madhya Pradesh chief minister announced that no arrest will be made under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act without investigation, in the state. The announcment is seen as an attempt by Chouhan to placate agitating upper castes against the SC/ST Act.
"MP mein nahi hoga SC/ST Act ka durupyog, bina janch ke nahi hogi giraftari (SC/ST Act will not be misused in Madhya Pradesh and arrests will not be made without investigation)," Chouhan tweeted on Thursday. Upper caste groups have been protesting against the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018, passed by the Parliament in August.
Protests were held in different parts of the state on Thursday against the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill. The state witnessed violence during a Bharat Bandh protest on April 2 against Supreme Court’s order on SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 diluting some of its provisions.
On March 20, while hearing a case from Maharashtra the apex court found that the SC/ST Act was being misused, and ordered that government servants cannot be immediately arrested on complaints made by the SC and ST persons before the matter is investigated by high ranking officers. The amendment bill, however, restored some stringent provisions of the SC/ST Act.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 21, 2018 01:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).