Supreme Court notice to Centre on plea challenging immediate arrest under SC/ST law
New Delhi, Sep 7: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre on three pleas challenging the recent amendment to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, restoring the provision mandating immediate arrest in the event of a complaint.
A bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan sought the Centre's response to the pleas but refused to stay the amended law.
"We can't stay without hearing the other side," the bench told the petitioners. The matter has been posted for the next hearing after six weeks.
The petitioners -- lawyers Prathvi Raj Chauhan, Priya Sharma and an NGO -- have challenged the amendment made in the just concluded monsoon session of Parliament by which the lawmakers nullified an apex court verdict removing the provision for immediate arrest.
The pleas said the fresh amendments were violative of the fundamental rights to equality, life and liberty.
Comparing the recent amendment with the one brought by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's government to overturn the top court verdict in Shah Bano case, the petitioner lawyers have described the provision to arrest as "arbitrary" as this would be misused against innocent people.
In the Shah Bano case, the top court had awarded maintenance to the divorced Muslim woman, but the then government brought an amendment to overturn the judgment holding that it was an infringement of the Muslim Personal Law.
The petitioners have contended that the government brought the amendment under pressure from alliance partners and for political mileage and the fear of antagonising a huge vote-bank ahead of the next year's Lok Sabha elections.
It says the government plea seeking the recall of the apex court order is still pending with the top court.
The Supreme Court had ruled on March 20 that the police should hold an inquiry to ascertain the veracity of any complaint filed under the Act before acting on it.
The court had said that it was providing for the safeguard "in view of acknowledged abuse of law of arrest" under the Act.
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SC Collegium recommends Justice Arun Palli as Chief Justice of J&K and Ladakh High Court
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, has recommended the appointment of Justice Arun Palli of the Punjab and Haryana High Court as the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.
According to a statement uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website on Saturday, the recommendation was made during a Collegium meeting held on 4 April 2025.
Justice Palli is set to replace the incumbent Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan, who is due to retire on 9 April upon attaining the age of 62.
Justice Arun Palli, the senior-most judge at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was elevated to the Bench in December 2013. He began his legal career after earning his law degree from Panjab University, Chandigarh, and practised across various branches of law, including civil, criminal, constitutional, revenue, industrial, and labour law, at the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He has also appeared before the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, and the Himachal Pradesh High Court in significant matters.
Earlier, he served as the Additional Advocate General for Punjab between 2004 and 2007 and was designated a Senior Advocate in 2007.
Justice Palli currently serves as the Executive Chairman of the Haryana State Legal Services Authority and has been a member of the Governing Body of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) since October 2023.
Coming from a family of lawyers, Justice Palli’s father served as a judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court until his retirement in 1998. His grandfather Lajpat Rai Palli and great-grandfather Lachchman Dass Palli were reputed advocates of the Patiala District Bar.
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