TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ The Centre on has told the Supreme Court that its judgment diluting a stringent provision of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has “seriously affected their (SCs/STs) morale and confidence”.
Attorney General K.K. Venugopal told a bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit that their March 20 judgment holding that arrest on a complaint under the law was not mandatory has shaken the confidence of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes “in the ability of the state to protect them”.
He added that it resulted in the death of eight people during protests as well as an increase in the instances of attack on the SCs and STs. The bench however questioned the submission saying its judgment did not lead to the deaths.
“Our judgment did not incite any one to commit crime. Our judgment has been wrongly understood. The SC/ST community has full protection of this court,” said Justice Goel refuting Mr Venugopal’s argument.
