On 2 April 2018, Dalit organisations called a nationwide shutdown against the Supreme Court's 20 March ruling in Subhash Kashinath Mahajan, which added safeguards against arrest under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Violence in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other states left between eight and eleven people dead, with curfews in Gwalior, Bhind and Morena and internet cuts in Punjab and Rajasthan. The Centre filed a review petition that day, Parliament restored the Act's arrest provisions in August 2018, the Court recalled its directions in October 2019 and upheld the amendment in February 2020.
Key takeaways
- On 20 March 2018 a two-judge Supreme Court bench of Justices A K Goel and U U Lalit ruled that arrests under the SC/ST Act needed prior approval and allowed a preliminary inquiry by a DSP, citing misuse of the law.
- The 2 April 2018 Bharat Bandh against the ruling turned violent in several states. Home Minister Rajnath Singh put the toll at eight the next day; later reports put it at eleven.
- Parliament passed an amendment inserting Section 18A in August 2018, which removed the inquiry and approval conditions and restored the bar on anticipatory bail. Upper-caste groups called a counter bandh on 6 September 2018.
- A three-judge bench recalled the 2018 directions on 1 October 2019, and the Supreme Court upheld the amendment on 10 February 2020.
The ruling of 20 March 2018
The case, Dr Subhash Kashinath Mahajan v State of Maharashtra, arose from a complaint against a Maharashtra official. A bench of Justices A K Goel and U U Lalit said the law was being abused and issued directions to protect people from false cases LiveLaw. The directions were:
- No absolute bar on anticipatory bail where no prima facie case is made out or the complaint is found to be mala fide. Section 18 of the Act had barred anticipatory bail.
- A public servant could be arrested only with approval of the appointing authority, and anyone else only with approval of the Senior Superintendent of Police, with reasons recorded and scrutinised by a magistrate.
- A preliminary inquiry "may be conducted by the DSP concerned" to check that allegations are "not frivolous or motivated". Officials who broke these directions faced disciplinary action and contempt The Leaflet.
The court said the move was aimed at curbing alleged misuse of the law Scroll. The inquiry was to finish within seven days BOOM. The order was criticised by members of SC/ST communities and by leaders across party lines. The Congress accused the Centre and the Maharashtra government, both parties to the case, of not presenting it properly Scroll.
Dalit activists disputed the premise of misuse. Government data cited by Reuters showed that by the end of 2016 about 90 per cent of roughly 1,45,000 cases were awaiting trial, and that less than a tenth of cases brought in 2016 were found to be false Al Jazeera.
2 April: the bandh
Several Dalit organisations called the shutdown. Thousands joined mostly peaceful sit-ins, including at Jantar Mantar in Delhi Al Jazeera. Protesters blocked trains, clashed with police and set fire to vehicles across seven states, according to officials quoted by PTI The Quint.
Punjab shuts down in advance
Punjab suspended mobile internet and public transport and closed schools; the CBSE postponed board exams there Scroll.
Trains and roads blocked
Trains were stopped at Arrah and Forbesganj in Bihar, Sambalpur in Odisha and Jalandhar in Punjab. More than 100 trains were affected Scroll The Quint.
Chambal region
Six deaths were reported in Morena, Gwalior and Bhind. A video showed a man firing shots in Gwalior. Curfew was imposed in parts of Gwalior, internet was cut in the district, and the army was called out in Bhind Scroll The Quint.
Rajasthan
In Alwar, a protester was killed when police fired to disperse a mob, SP Rahul Prakash said. Arson was reported in several cities and internet was suspended in several districts IANS via Business Standard.
Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab
Two protesters died in Uttar Pradesh, where vehicles were torched in Azamgarh and Muzaffarnagar. Police detained over 200 in Meerut and over 1,600 in Ranchi and East Singhbhum Scroll.
Review petition filed
The Social Justice Ministry filed a review petition. A bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra refused an urgent listing of a separate plea that day Scroll.
Court refuses stay
The Goel-Lalit bench heard the Centre for an hour, refused to keep its directions in abeyance and listed the review for detailed hearing PTI via Business Standard.
Counter bandh
Groups opposed to caste-based reservation called their own shutdown. In Arrah, Bihar, more than a dozen people were hurt when its supporters clashed with OBC and Dalit groups and gunshots were heard. IANS/PTI via National Herald Scroll.
How many died
- Government's position Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha on 3 April that eight were killed: six in Madhya Pradesh and one each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan PTI via Outlook.
- Scroll and The Quint reported nine on the day, Scroll giving six in Madhya Pradesh, two in Uttar Pradesh and one in Rajasthan Scroll The Quint.
- Later reports by Scroll and BOOM put the toll at 11 Scroll BOOM.
Gwalior: who fired
In Gwalior, clashes were between Dalit marchers and groups of upper-caste men. Police identified a man seen firing a gun in a Dalit locality in a video as Raja Chauhan. The SP said 20 cases had been registered in Gwalior, that Chauhan was a suspect in one and was absconding. By 3 April, 65 people from both communities had been arrested in the state Scroll.
The Caravan reported in November 2018 that another man, Mahendra Singh Chauhan, was charged with murder over two Dalit men shot dead in Gwalior's Thatipur area, and was out on bail. Raja Chauhan was charged with attempt to commit culpable homicide, surrendered on 5 September 2018 and got bail the same day. Both told the magazine they fired in self-defence The Caravan. In Morena, police had arrested 100 people by mid-April, including a constable of the district's SC/ST police station Scroll.
Both accounts
Protesters' account
Dalit groups said the ruling would make it harder to register complaints and lead to more crimes against SCs and STs The Quint. In Gwalior, residents of Dalit colonies told The Caravan that armed men entered their lanes and the people killed there were Dalits The Caravan. BSP chief Mayawati backed the protests but not the violence Scroll.
Police and government account
Rajasthan DGP O P Galhotra said protesters "were given a chance to demonstrate peacefully" but turned violent and would be dealt with sternly IANS. Meerut police named a former BSP legislator as the "main conspirator" there and said the National Security Act would be invoked. Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan accused the opposition of "playing politics" Scroll.
The Centre's position
Government's position The Centre said it had not caused any dilution and opposed the ruling in court. Its review petition said the verdict had "wide ramification and implication resulting in dilution of the stringent provisions" and was "contrary to the legislative policy of Parliament" PTI via Business Standard.
Through the House, I want to assure the people that there has been no dilution whatsoever by my government, rather after coming to power and examining the SC/ST prevention Atrocities Act, we have taken a decision to strengthen it.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Lok Sabha, 3 April 2018 (PTI via Outlook)
Singh said the government "was not party in that case" and called rumours about reservation "false and baseless" PTI via Outlook. In May 2018, Attorney General K K Venugopal argued that the judgment was "a clear case of judicial amendment", that replacing FIRs with a preliminary inquiry "amounts to legislation", and asked "how can the court proceed on the assumption that these cases were false?" based on acquittal data. He sought a larger bench LiveLaw.
The Court's reasoning
At the 3 April hearing the bench defended its ruling. "We have not diluted any provision of SC/ST Act but only safeguarded the interests of the innocents from being arrested," it said, adding that people agitating "may not have read the judgement properly" and may have been misled by "vested interests" PTI via Business Standard.
The Act does not mandate immediate arrest on a complaint, its provisions "cannot be used to terrorise the innocents", and IPC offences need no inquiry before an FIR.
In May the bench told the Attorney General that "all that the judgment says is that arrest may not be readily resorted to" LiveLaw.
Parliament overrides the ruling
The government brought an amendment after the Lok Janshakti Party, an NDA ally, threatened to join a fresh Dalit shutdown planned for 9 August Scroll. The Lok Sabha passed it on 6 August 2018, though Scroll reported 3 August, and the Rajya Sabha on 9 August The Logical Indian LiveLaw.
The new Section 18A removed the preliminary inquiry and arrest approval, restored the bar on anticipatory bail, and overrode "any judgment or order or direction of any court" LiveLaw. The All India Ambedkar Mahasabha called it a "first milestone" and postponed its shutdown Scroll.
The 6 September counter bandh
About 35 outfits linked to upper-caste communities called a bandh on 6 September 2018 against the amendment The Logical Indian. Madhya Pradesh put 35 districts on high alert and imposed Section 144 in several. Protesters stopped trains in Darbhanga, Arrah and Munger in Bihar, and a mall was vandalised in Varanasi The Quint. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called the bandh meaningless and said the law "is to protect the downtrodden" but would not be misused The Logical Indian.
The recall and the 2020 verdict
On 1 October 2019, Justices Arun Mishra, M R Shah and B R Gavai recalled directions 3, 4 and 5 of the 2018 judgment. They said SCs and STs still face discrimination, that misuse of the Act is due to "human failing and not due to the caste factor", and that the "court cannot do what cannot be done by legislature" The Leaflet. Supreme Court Observer summed up two reasons: the directions put harsher conditions on FIRs and arrests than the general law, treating SC/ST complainants unequally; and with no gap in the law, Article 142 powers could not be used SC Observer.
On 10 February 2020 the Court upheld the 2018 amendment in Prathvi Raj Chauhan v Union of India. The petitioners had argued it violated Articles 14, 19 and 21 and was passed under "political pressure" LiveLaw. The bench said a preliminary inquiry is not essential before an FIR and anticipatory bail can be granted only where no prima facie case is made out. Justice Ravindra Bhat, concurring, said courts can quash an FIR in such cases but "liberal use" of anticipatory bail would defeat Parliament's intent PTI via The Quint SC Observer.
Outcome
- Deaths: 8 per the Home Minister on 3 April; 9 in same-day media counts; 11 in later reports.
- Arrests: Over 200 detained in Meerut and over 1,600 in Jharkhand on the day; 100 arrested in Morena by mid-April.
- Law: Section 18A inserted in August 2018, restoring arrest without prior approval and the bar on anticipatory bail.
- Courts: Directions recalled 1 October 2019; amendment upheld 10 February 2020.
- Cases against protesters: In January 2019, after Mayawati threatened to review BSP support, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said his government would examine the bandh cases. Madhya Pradesh announced it would withdraw "politically motivated" cases filed under the previous BJP government, and its law minister denied the threat had prompted this Tribune Scroll.
What is still pending
The Act stands in its amended form, with arrest and bail rules as settled in February 2020. No reports were found of verdicts in the Gwalior killings or of how many bandh cases were finally withdrawn. In 2024, a different Supreme Court ruling, allowing states to sub-classify SCs, set off another Dalit-led Bharat Bandh.
Questions people ask
Why was the Bharat Bandh of 2 April 2018 called?
Dalit organisations protested the Supreme Court's 20 March 2018 ruling, which required approval before arrests under the SC/ST Atrocities Act, allowed a preliminary inquiry by a DSP and opened the door to anticipatory bail. They said this diluted the law.
How many people died in the 2 April 2018 Bharat Bandh?
The Home Minister told Parliament eight died: six in Madhya Pradesh and one each in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Same-day media reports said nine, and later reports said 11.
What was the Subhash Kashinath Mahajan judgment?
A 20 March 2018 ruling by Justices A K Goel and U U Lalit. It said public servants could be arrested under the SC/ST Act only with the appointing authority's approval and others only with the SSP's approval, and allowed anticipatory bail where no prima facie case existed.
What did the SC/ST Amendment Act 2018 do?
It inserted Section 18A, which says no preliminary inquiry or approval is needed before an FIR or arrest, and that anticipatory bail does not apply, overriding any court order.
Did the Supreme Court reverse its 2018 SC/ST ruling?
Yes. On 1 October 2019 a three-judge bench recalled the arrest and inquiry directions, and on 10 February 2020 the Court upheld the 2018 amendment.
What was the 6 September 2018 Bharat Bandh?
A shutdown called by about 35 upper-caste and unreserved-category outfits against Parliament's amendment. It affected parts of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Sources
- Scroll: Bharat Bandh: Nine killed, hundreds detained, 2 Apr 2018
- The Quint (PTI): Bharat Bandh: 9 dead as Dalit outfits protest SC/ST ruling, 2 Apr 2018
- Al Jazeera: Dalits in India hold protests against 'dilution' of SC/ST Act, 2 Apr 2018
- IANS via Business Standard: One killed as violence sweeps Rajasthan during Bharat Bandh, 2 Apr 2018
- PTI via Business Standard: SC declines to stay its SC/ST verdict; to consider Centre's plea soon, 3 Apr 2018
- PTI via Outlook: Rumours false and baseless, govt not diluting the SC/ST Act: Rajnath Singh, 3 Apr 2018
- Scroll: Gwalior violence: Police search for man seen firing a gun, 3 Apr 2018
- BOOM: Did the Supreme Court scrap the SC/ST Act?, 5 Apr 2018
- Scroll: Bharat Bandh: Over a dozen people injured in clash in Bihar's Arrah, 10 Apr 2018
- IANS/PTI via National Herald: Violence leaves over a dozen injured in Bihar, 10 Apr 2018
- Scroll: Two more arrested for violence in Morena during April 2 Bharat Bandh, Apr 2018
- LiveLaw: March 20 judgment is a judicial amendment to SC/ST Act: AG K K Venugopal, May 2018
- LiveLaw: No anticipatory bail, no preliminary inquiry: Lok Sabha passes SC/ST Amendment Bill, Aug 2018
- Scroll: Rajya Sabha passes SC/ST Act amendment bill, reverses Supreme Court order, 9 Aug 2018
- The Quint: Bharat Bandh: Section 144 in parts of MP, trains stopped in Bihar, 6 Sept 2018
- The Logical Indian: Bharat Bandh called by upper caste outfits over changes in SC/ST Act, 8 Sept 2018
- The Caravan: Son of a gun, 28 Nov 2018
- Scroll: Mayawati threatens to withdraw support to Congress governments in MP and Rajasthan, 31 Dec 2018
- Tribune: After Maya's demand, Gehlot says will examine cases against Dalits, 2 Jan 2019
- The Leaflet: SC/ST Act: Supreme Court recalls its 2018 verdict on government's plea, 1 Oct 2019
- Supreme Court Observer: Subhash Kashinath Mahajan: Court recalls its order, Oct 2019
- LiveLaw: SC upholds validity of SC/ST Amendment Act 2018, 10 Feb 2020
- The Quint (PTI): SC upholds constitutional validity of SC/ST Amendment Act, 10 Feb 2020
- Supreme Court Observer: Legality of SC/ST Act Amendment, case page