ENTIRE NATION ANTICIPATING……….ALONG WITH SC ON SC-ST ACT  

India is a nation in which the Supreme Court is the torch bearer of the law. The apex court stands on the position that its verdict is taken as the order for the entire nation.

But on April 2, in the same country to that same Supreme Court only, threats were given by the Dalits that they will continue to burn cities if the law wasn’t made as was earlier. Protesters had turned extremely violent at several places, which resulted in the death of at least 14 people and the immense destruction of property across the nation. Dalits organized mass protests against a Supreme Court ruling of 20 March, the court had diluted the stringent provisions under the Atrocities Act which mandated the immediate arrest of the accused without conducting the preliminary investigation. Soon it was converted into the topic for conducting politics as the political parties joined the bandwagon.

Due to the pressure of a huge vote bank of the Dalits for next year’s, Lok Sabha elections government decided to ball into Parliament’s court. Imagine the situation that vote banks were so crucial that it overpowered county’s apex court decision, as forced government to change SC’s verdict. On August 1, the SC/ST Amendment Bill, 2018 was approved by Union Cabinet.

“The basic principle of criminal jurisprudence implies that once the investigating officer has reasons to suspect that an offense has been committed, he can arrest an accused. This decision to arrest or not to arrest cannot be taken away from the investigating officer.” – Amendment Bill

The preliminary inquiry is not required for registration of FIR against any person, states the Section 3 of the amendment bill. Any approval is not required to arrest an accused under SC/ST Act, it further observes.

Just to put into government’s realization that in India 22% of the population is of Dalit community and on the hand upper class comprises of total 78% of the population, so the government doesn’t want the votes of the majority as is running after minorities?

On 12th August 2016, Supreme Court of India held that the right to peaceful protest is a fundamental right guaranteed in the Constitution and the right is subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, along with the public order. But is it possible that we as a citizen have started misusing the privileges we are being provided in the form of rights?

Government overturned the law of Supreme Court saying that the atrocities against Dalits will never end, and this only provoked the upper class to do something that never happened before. Upper class, under the leadership of Pandit Devkinandan Thakur, Krishna Katha orator came on streets to protest, and the protest was genuine as SC already claimed. They didn’t want to snatch away the privileges of Dalits but only that investigation must be done, so that innocent can’t be punished. Devkinandan led this protest in many cities opposing to the vote bank politics.

Mahasabha was organized, on September 4, in Gwalior, in which government was warned that if a law isn’t changed then something will happen that never happened before.

In Mathura, Vipra Mahakumbh was organized on September 5, and same warning was repeated.

On September 6, protest by upper class resulted in Bharat Band across the nation. The protest saw its presence in many areas of Bihar, MP, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

“If our own government takes such a step, then I do not have the right to be able to keep my point? We should have a SC-ST act, but as the Supreme Court has said. After this law people will fear that if I sit with them, then I will be jailed.” –Devkinandan

Due to the scourge on the Bharat Band on the SC/ST Act, the Supreme Court decides to examine this amended law and seek answers in six weeks from the Central Government.

Devkinandan further made Akhand Bharat Mission on September 9, under which the further protest against SC/ST act would be conducted.

On September 11, Devkinandan was arrested in Section 151 in Agra, with the accusation that he didn’t took the permission of press conference.

A matter of concern that is being evolved amidst all these issues is that, is politics is provoking protests? Because when a law is made there are many people who might not agree to that, they initiate a protest. On the initial point that protest is considered as non-violent but drastically it takes the face of a violent protest, burning infrastructure, injuring people. And after observing the worst situation in the country government takes the decision as per the protestors demand. So is this the new way to persuade the matter?

Because directly or indirectly this point is being injected into the minds of the public by the lawmakers that- you disagree with a law? Begin a protest…we are here to turn it.

Now it’s been the age-old culture of the Indian politics to absorb any issue into politics just for the sake of the votes. It’s time that the apex court and the government take the larger view of the situation and resolve it accordingly.