Centre files review petition over SC/ST Act order as protests hit Punjab, Haryana

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha was informed on Monday that the Centre has filed a review petition over the Supreme Court's order for the dilution of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.

Amid protests and din in the Lower House, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the SC/ST Act was an important issue which the opposition wanted to discuss in the debate on the no confidence motion.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar informed the House that a review petition has been filed by the government.

"I want to assure that the Modi government is 100 per cent on the side of the Scheduled Castes..." Kumar said amid a ruckus.

"We have already filed a review petition," he added.

Meanwhile, activists from various SC organisations held protests in Punjab and Haryana against the dilution of the Act following the SC order.

Hundreds of protesters carrying swords, sticks, baseball bats and flags forced shopkeepers and other establishments in Jalandhar, Amritsar and Bathinda to shut down.

According to reports, some protesters tried to stop a train in Amritsar district earlier on Monday morning but relented following talks with railway officials.

Demonstrators also entered the Jalandhar Cantt railway station, shouting slogans and burnt effigies on the tracks.

Some highways and roads were also blocked. Traffic in and around Chandigarh was severely affected.

Protests were also reported from Rohtak and other towns in neighbouring Haryana.

Shops, educational institutions and other establishments remained closed in Punjab. The final practical examinations of Class 10 and 12 of Punjab School Education Board, which were scheduled to be held on Monday, will now be held on April 11.

Various SC organisations will submit memorandums to district officers against the dilution of the Act.

The Punjab government on Sunday ordered a security clampdown across the state as a precautionary measure in view of Monday's protest.

The state has the highest concentration of scheduled castes among states. They constitute nearly 32 per cent of the state's 2.8 crore population.

Mobile internet services have been suspended from 5 p.m. on Sunday till Monday evening.

Noting that the Central government had already announced its decision to file a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh appealed to the SC/ST community to defer its protest till the final decision on the petition comes.

On March 20, the Supreme Court ruled that the arrest of an accused under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act was not mandatory and recourse to coercive action would be only after a preliminary inquiry and sanction by the competent authority.

There was no "absolute bar against grant of anticipatory bail in cases under the Atrocities Act if no prima facie case is made out or where on judicial scrutiny the complaint is found to be prima facie mala fide", the apex court added.