Supreme Court declines plea against amendments to SC/ST Act

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A general view of The Supreme Court in New Delhi on Tuesday, August 18, 2026. Photo: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap/The Hindu | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (September 22, 2026) declined to entertain a petition challenging amendments made to the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in 2015 and 2018. The changes included an expanded list of atrocities, acceleration of the trial process, and enhanced protection for victims and witnesses, the petition said.

The 2018 amendments had overridden the judgment in Subhash Kashinath Mahajan vs State of Maharashtra, which had introduced preliminary inquiries and prior approvals before making arrests under the Act. The 2018 amendment law had done away with these requirements and restored the strict provisions of the original Act.

“There can be no presumption against non-SC/ST persons that they have committed the offence as mentioned in the complaint, as such allegations may be based on personal vendetta, political rivalry or to extort money,” the petitioner, Brijbhushan Saini, said.

He argued that the amendments had introduced provisions which were “manifestly arbitrary, draconian, and disproportionate, creating a parallel caste-based criminal justice system that presumes guilt based solely on the accused’s non-SC/ST status, thereby fostering reverse discrimination, misuse, and erosion of the rule of law”.

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