Patna: Mahadalit leader Jitan Ram Manjhi on Thursday appealed to the Supreme Court to review its ruling that sanction of the appointing authority would be required before arrest or prosecution of the accused under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Such a ruling, the former chief minister said, is harmful for the SC and ST community and it would be injustice to them.

"I do not want to comment on the ruling of Supreme Court but it would have a severe impact on the people belonging to SC/ST. I want to ask whether an SC/ST person belongs to this country or not. Earlier there was a provision that a person once arrested under the Act would not get bail, due to which there was fear that if anyone would dare to commit any atrocity against an SC/ST person they would land in trouble. Now that fear would disappear," Manjhi said. "After change in the provision, it has become a bailable offence and needs sanction of the appointing authority in case of a government employee and permission from SDP and DSP rank officer in case of non-government employee. The local officers know better and understand the problem of SC/ST. If every time there is need of senior officers then I do not think that our people will get justice."

He said that due to the provisions in Act, atrocities against SC/ST were comparatively few but the changes made are not favourable for the downtrodden.

The HAMS leader said that cases under the SC/ST Act are hardly lodged and the conviction rate is also very low be it at the national level or in Bihar. Manjhi claimed that after the changes in the Act atrocities will increase manifold and incidents of dacoity and murder will happen frequently.

"I appeal to the Supreme Court as well as to the central government to review the decision so that SC/ST people can live without fear," Manjhi stressed.

Another Mahadalit leader, JDU MLA Shyam Rajak, called the ruling a black chapter in the history of the India.

"I want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi that when notice was given why the attorney general or solicitor general was not present before court to present the case properly. A junior official was sent to represent the case. I demand that the Centre must file a review petition in Supreme Court," Rajak said.

He said many laws are misused, including the SC/ST Act, but that does not mean that rights of SC/ST should be taken away.