Apex court will hear review petition on SC/ST Act at 2pm today

Above: Members of Dalit organisations raising slogans during  Bharat Bandh over SC/ST issue, in Lucknow on April 2/Photo: UNI

The Supreme Court will take up the review petition filed by Centre at 2 pm today seeking review of its March 20 verdict which diluted the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

On April 2, the bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had declined the Centre’s request for an urgent hearing of the review petition and had directed that the same may be listed as per usual procedure despite the widespread protests by Dalit organizations yesterday seeking restoration of the Act in its original form.

According to the India Legal sources, the bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra will take up the plea. The matter was listed today after Attorney General (AG) K K Venugopal referred to violence leading to loss of lives and damage to property during nationwide Dalit protests and sought urgent hearing.

—India Legal Bureau