A petition has asked the Supreme Court for a recall of its order of March 2018.
The government's request seeking a review of the controversial order, that allegedly diluted the stringent provisions of a law protecting Scheduled Casts and Tribes, was referred to a three-judge bench of the top court today.
A petition has asked the Supreme Court for a recall of its order of March 2018, which said there will be no immediate arrest for complaints under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
The top court had on May 1 reserved the judgement on the centre's review petition while observing that laws in the country should be caste neutral and uniform. The verdict had led to an outcry and triggered protests by different SC/ST organisations across the country.
"Place the matter before three-judge bench next week," a two-judge bench of justices Arun Mishra and UU Lalit said today.
The Supreme Court's other two decisions - the introduction of anticipatory bail provisions and preliminary probe by the police before arrest also triggered an uproar. Following the outrage and the subsequent political pressure, the centre had asked the top court to rethink its verdict.
The government was strongly criticised by Dalit groups, which accused it of failing to take prompt action and ask the court for a review of its decision. On April 2 last year, nearly a dozen people died as Dalit groups resorted to violence to enforce a countrywide shutdown in protest against the court order.
The government, which, by then had announced that it would file a review petition, accused the opposition parties of instigating the violence.
The centre has since made amendments in the law to overcome the top court's order.