Centre tells SC that it is not considering to amend SC/ST Act to punish individuals filing false complaints
February 14, 2018The Supreme court has asked the Centre to express its intention on whether the false complaints made under the Schedule Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), 1989, could be made a punishable offence. The issue came forward in the light of the increasing number of cases where people are falsely implicated under the Act, thereby leading to the misuse of the Act.
The Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh informed the Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice Adarsh K. Goel and Justice U. U. Lalit that the government is not considering to amend the law, in order to make provision for punishing individuals who file false complaints.
Maninder Singh told the court that the intention of the legislature to enact the Schedule Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, is to prevent the commission of atrocities against the members of Scheduled Caste/ Tribe. Hence, incorporating a provision to punish the members of the community for false complaints shall be against the objectives of the Act.
Singh further said, “The Centre remains fully committed to ensuring proper, meaningful and effective implementation of the 1989 Act along with its amendment carried out in 2015 and is also duty bound to take all necessary steps from time to time.” After hearing him, the bench reserved its order.
This means a member of the SC/ST community can get away with a false complaint against a person even if a court finds the complaint to be frivolous. The only relief for government servants facing complaints under the SC/ST law, the Centre said, was under the IPC, which could be invoked by higher authorities to deny sanction for prosecution of an accused if they thought the complaint was utterly false.
As per the statics submitted by the Centre to the Court, out of the total number of cases filed under the Act in the year 2015, as many as 15%- 16% of those cases were closed by the police without any prosecution, and the cases for which the charge sheet was filed, the trial court either acquitted the accused or closed the case after compounding the offence.
The Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh informed the Supreme Court bench comprising of Justice Adarsh K. Goel and Justice U. U. Lalit that the government is not considering to amend the law, in order to make provision for punishing individuals who file false complaints.
Maninder Singh told the court that the intention of the legislature to enact the Schedule Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, is to prevent the commission of atrocities against the members of Scheduled Caste/ Tribe. Hence, incorporating a provision to punish the members of the community for false complaints shall be against the objectives of the Act.
Singh further said, “The Centre remains fully committed to ensuring proper, meaningful and effective implementation of the 1989 Act along with its amendment carried out in 2015 and is also duty bound to take all necessary steps from time to time.” After hearing him, the bench reserved its order.
This means a member of the SC/ST community can get away with a false complaint against a person even if a court finds the complaint to be frivolous. The only relief for government servants facing complaints under the SC/ST law, the Centre said, was under the IPC, which could be invoked by higher authorities to deny sanction for prosecution of an accused if they thought the complaint was utterly false.
As per the statics submitted by the Centre to the Court, out of the total number of cases filed under the Act in the year 2015, as many as 15%- 16% of those cases were closed by the police without any prosecution, and the cases for which the charge sheet was filed, the trial court either acquitted the accused or closed the case after compounding the offence.
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