Hit People For Six

This ATM has remained non-functional for quite a long time before the demonetization. Demonetization was supposed to affect those who are black marketers and currency fakers, but it literally hits the poor for six irrespective of both male and female and young and old.

This ATM is situated at City Civil Court Complex, Bengaluru, which now functions as a boon to several lawyers in this testing time by providing Rs.2000 notes, though it being an unbroken coconut now, on daily basis, so that lawyers like me need not roam around for seeking money in the city. It is one of the ATMs in this area, which dispenses Rs.2000 notes to its users.

This ATM is doing a great service to the lawyers as well as general public who come from all walks of life here. I am looking for Rs.500 & 1000 notes that the ATM is going to dispense in the coming days!!

Note Scarcity: The above piece of write up has been written on December 13, 2016. The same ATM had become non-functional as most ATMs had enough cash of post-demonetization bad days are over. This additional note to the above is written on April 17, 2018. Now the unwelcoming board of “No CASH” or “OUT OF ORDER” greeted ATM users all over the city once again!?Hope the said ATM (not EVM) to dispense denominations of Rs.200, 500 and even 1000 notes very soon!!

It looks like the dismay of post demonetization days is coming again in the city and thereby all the ATMs are running dry nowadays. Therefore, I appeal to the central government to declare this phenomenon as a national disaster which will occur from time to time in a state or many other states at the time of mainly of its assembly election or elections. So, let us refer this disaster as scarcity of notes!

Secular Castes and Secular Tribes:

(1)The President [may with respect to any State] [or Union Territory], and where it is a State, after consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification, specify the castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes which shall for the purposes of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Castes in relation to that State [or Union Territory, as the case may be].

(2) Parliament may by law include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled Castes specified in a notification issued under clause (1) any caste, race or tribe or part of or group within any caste, race or tribe, but save as aforesaid a notification issued under the said clause shall not be varied by any subsequent notification. [Acc.Art.341 of the Constitution of India, 1950]

(1) The President [may with respect to any State] [or Union Territory], and where it is a State, after consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification, specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities which shall for the purposes of this Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State [or Union Territory, as the case may be].

(2) Parliament may by law include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled Tribes specified in a notification issued under clause(1) any tribe or tribal community or part of or group within any tribe or tribal community, but save as aforesaid a notification issued under the said clause shall not be varied by any subsequent notification. [Acc.Art.342 of the Constitution of India, 1950]

Schedule castes distribution map in India by state and union territory according to 2011 Census. Punjab had the highest % of its population as SC (~32%), while India’s island territories and two northeastern states had 0%. Schedule Tribes distribution map in India by state and union territory according to 2011 Census. Mizoram and Lakshadweep had the highest % of its population as ST (~95%), while Punjab and Haryana had 0%.

The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are official designations given to various groups of historically disadvantaged people. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the various groups are designated in one or other of the categories. During the period of British rule in the Indian subcontinent, they were known as the Depressed Classes. In modern literature, the Scheduled Castes are sometimes referred to as Dalit.

But, in the present Indian scenarios, the terms secular castes and secular tribes shall be the appropriate and justifiable designations for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

In 1935 the British passed the Government of India Act 1935, designed to give Indian provinces greater self-rule and set up a national federal structure. The reservation of seats for the Depressed Classes was incorporated into the act, which came into force in 1937. The Act introduced the term "Scheduled Castes", defining the group as "such castes, races or tribes or parts of groups within castes, races or tribes, which appear to His Majesty in Council to correspond to the classes of persons formerly known as the 'Depressed Classes', as His Majesty in Council may prefer". This discretionary definition was clarified in The Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936, which contained a list (or Schedule) of castes throughout the British-administered provinces.

The abbreviations of SCs and STs have nothing to do with one’s own original caste name or surname but, in part XVI of the Indian constitution, regarding special provisions relating to certain classes, which contained two lists (or Schedules) these two lists of SCs and STs are included under article 341 and 342 respectively and officially the terms Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes were coined. No one was born as SC or ST and moreover, it is neither a caste name nor a surname and much less than a family name. In brief, therefore, there are only two classes of people in India, those who are Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes and those who are non–scheduled castes and non-scheduled tribes!!

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes comprise about 16.6 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, of India 's population (according to the 2011 census). The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 lists 1,108 castes across 29 states in its First Schedule, and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 lists 744 tribes across 22 states in its First Schedule.

Thus it is not a bad idea about appeasement of these classes of people by political parties prior to any general elections in anywhere in India. Is it so? Food politics and bed politics are two examples of wooing their support.

The reasons behind all these polytrics are for nothing but eyeing to tilt the unfixed vote bank holding by these classes of people all over India. Schedule Castes (SCs) and Schedule Tribes (STs) form a little over 25% of the nation’s population. Therefore, these classes of people can influence election results across the country. So, it is high time to form a political party in the name and style of the all India secular castes and secular tribes federation or confederation to bring all the floating voters under one umbrella to contest elections by alliance with other political parties.

Since independence, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were given Reservation status, guaranteeing political representation. The Constitution lays down the general principles of affirmative action. The significance of the political party is the need of the hour at this juncture to field candidates outside reserved constituencies to win the elections thereby breaking the decades’ old following taboos.

What about their social security and personal liberty? What are the steps taken by government to improve the situation of STs and STs? A number of laws were enacted to implement the provisions in the Constitution. One of the examples of such laws is Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. But, by the SC’s March 20, 2018 judgment, the said act has become toothless and in effect, SCs and STs have been deprived of their legal rights too?!

The introduction of anticipatory bail and as well as mandated police officers to first inquire into the veracity of a complaint before registering an FIR and arresting an accused as per the latest judgment(not amendment) by the division bench of the SC to the SC/ST Act, are critical mainly on two-fold:

1. How can a division bench of the SC amend a special legislation merely at its own whims and fancies.

2. Section 438 of the Cr.PC too to applies to persons committing an offence under the SC/ST Act, then what for the former.

The apex court has taken away by overnight the provisions of the SC/ST Act, of automatic arrest for offences under the law, citing the reasons of a large number of acquittals. Is it a good precedent? Interpretation of law and interpolation of law are not the same but they are entirely different things.

By this judgment, nothing but the liberty of an accused is protected even though he committed an offence under the act. The low rate of convictions under the act cannot be considered as a misuse of the law, but the collusion of accused with police. The collusive nature of the accused towards the police and the coercive attitude of the police towards the complainant may be the unspoken reasons for the low rate of convictions under the act. The HCs and SC are having powers to issue writs provided by our Constitution which also known as powers of judicial review and that writ jurisdiction should be used sparingly and may not be misused as Tughlaq’s reforms by issuing unreasonable orders or judgments, otherwise which are apparently termed as said above.