Innocent until proven guilty? Not anymore.
What began as a protective shield for the marginalized has been sharpened into a political weapon. The SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, once meant to ensure justice, has now mutated into a loaded gun—cocked, aimed, and fired without warning. From Gandhi’s ego-driven legacy to Modi’s vote-bank calculus, the real casualties are the innocent and the voiceless.
1. Before 2015: A System Of Checks & Balances ⚖️
• Preliminary inquiry was mandatory before arrest.
• government sanction is required to arrest a public servant.
• Compensation was capped at ₹1 lakh.
👉 The law wasn’t perfect, but there was at least a filter to separate truth from vendetta.
2. After 2018: The Vote bank Special Edition 🚨
• No inquiry needed before lodging an FIR.
• No approval required to arrest—public servants can be jailed overnight.
• No anticipatory bail allowed—your hands are tied before the fight even begins.
• Special courts fast-track cases… but often fast-track injustice.
• Compensation hiked to ₹8.25 lakh—a political jackpot waiting to be claimed.
3. The Rise Of Fear Over Fairness 😱
• Innocent people live in dread of false complaints.
• Law-abiding citizens are suddenly treated like criminals.
• “Guilty until proven innocent” has become the unspoken mantra.
4. politics Over Principles 🗳️
• Gandhi’s obsession with appeasement lit the fuse.
• Decades later, Modi’s government turned the Act into a vote bank nuke.
• Neither side cared about balance—only numbers, not justice, mattered.
5. The Silent Casualties Nobody Talks About 💔
• Careers ruined by false cases.
• Families were shattered overnight.
• Ordinary citizens are branded as criminals before the evidence is even tested.
👉 Bottom line: What was meant as a shield for the oppressed has become a political sword of mass destruction. The SC-ST Act, post-2018, is less about justice and more about appeasement. In the end, the oppressed remain oppressed, the powerful remain untouchable, and the innocent pay the heaviest price.
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