The Supreme Court today upheld the Constitutional validity of the SC/ST Amendment Act, 2018. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said, a court can grant anticipatory bail only in cases where a prima facie case is not made out.
The bench said, a preliminary inquiry is not essential before lodging an FIR under the act and the approval of senior
He said, a court can quash the FIR if a prima facie case is not made out under the SC/ST Act and the liberal use of anticipatory bail will defeat the intention of Parliament. The top court’s verdict came on a batch of PILs challenging the validity of the SC/ST Amendment Act of 2018. PILs were filed to nullify the effect of the apex court’s 2018 ruling, which had diluted the provisions of the stringent Act.