Caught In The Act: Periyar University Vice-Chancellor's Arrest Highlights SC/ST Law Misuse

Dr R Jagannathan, the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Tamil Nadu's Periyar University was arrested last week under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and on charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy. He was granted bail by a magistrate after a late night hearing as he was not convinced of the need to arrest him under the Act.

The FIR stated that one Isaiah Elangovan was subjected to caste slurs and threats to his life when he confronted the VC with charges of corruption and irregularities.

Giving the case a political angle, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State President K Annamalai alleged that Jagannathan was being falsely booked under the SC/ST Act.

He alleged that the VC was being framed for refusing to appoint a nominee proposed by former Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy as the registrar of the university.

While the allegations are yet to be investigated, the case throws light on the possibility of misuse of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Act allows the police to arrest individuals without the approval of higher authorities. It allows for registration of FIRs without requiring any preliminary inquiry. Further, anticipatory bail is not allowed.

Such stringent provisions have facilitated rampant misuse. According to a report by Indian Express, data from the Rajasthan police in 2020 showed that 40 per cent of the cases filed under the Act were fake.

The potential misuse of the Act was flagged even by the Supreme Court in a judgement in 2018. The court then introduced three key safeguards.

It required that a preliminary inquiry be conducted for an FIR to be registered, it mandated an approval to be taken for the arrest of an accused from the designated authority, and also allowed anticipatory bail provisions.

The government, which came under significant political pressure, later overturned these provisions brought by the Supreme Court through an amendment.

With the overturning of safety provisions, the Act once again became vulnerable to misuse. The arrest and slapping of SC/ST Act charges against a university vice chancellor - with significant political context to the case must ideally raise eyebrows.

Dr Jagannathan got away after a late night hearing. Many of those falsely implicated may not have that luxury.