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70 Brahmins booked in Darbhanga, Bihar minister warns against ‘misuse’ of SC/ST Act: ‘Will affect social camaraderie’

February 07, 2026 5 min read Social Issues Polity & Governance GS Paper 1 (Social Issues) GS Paper 2 (Polity Governance Social Justice)
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What Happened

  • Darbhanga police in Bihar lodged a case under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against 70 people from the Brahmin community, with 12 arrested, following an alleged attack on a Dalit (Paswan) family in Harinagar village under Kusheshwar Sthan police station.
  • The incident originated from a wage dispute: Kailash Paswan, a mason, had been demanding Rs 2.47 lakh in pending dues for construction work done in 2015. On January 30, an altercation led to an assault, and on January 31, over 150 people from Brahmin settlements allegedly attacked the Paswan household, injuring over a dozen people.
  • Nine injured persons were admitted to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital.
  • Bihar Rural Works Department Minister Ashok Choudhary (himself from an SC community) cautioned against misuse of the SC/ST Act, stating that misuse would erode sympathy for Dalits and harm social camaraderie.
  • The Biraul SDPO clarified that the FIR was based on primary investigation and named 70 individuals (with 100-150 unnamed accused), not the entire Brahmin community of the village (which has over 2,500 Brahmins and 60-70 Paswan families).

Static Topic Bridges

SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, is a special legislation enacted to prevent atrocities against members of SC and ST communities and to provide for Special Courts for trial of such offences and relief and rehabilitation of victims.

  • The Act defines and penalises a range of offences specific to caste-based discrimination, including forced labour, sexual abuse, social ostracism, denial of access to public places, forced consumption of obnoxious substances, and physical violence
  • Amended comprehensively in 2015: expanded the list of offences under Section 3, added rights of victims and witnesses (Section 15A), and mandated establishment of Exclusive Special Courts in each district
  • The Supreme Court in Subhash Kashinath Mahajan v. State of Maharashtra (2018) directed that a preliminary inquiry be conducted before FIR registration and allowed anticipatory bail -- this was perceived as diluting the Act
  • Parliament passed an amendment in August 2018 (Section 18A) overturning the Supreme Court ruling: no preliminary inquiry required for FIR registration, no prior approval needed for arrest, and anticipatory bail provisions of CrPC do not apply
  • In Prithvi Raj Chauhan v. Union of India (2020), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the 2018 amendment

Connection to this news: The Darbhanga case highlights the ongoing tension around the SC/ST Act's application -- while the Act was designed to protect Dalits from caste-based violence, the booking of 70 named individuals (with 100-150 unnamed) under its stringent non-bailable provisions has reignited the debate about procedural safeguards and proportionality.

Caste-Based Violence and Social Justice in India

Despite constitutional guarantees of equality (Articles 14-17) and the abolition of untouchability (Article 17), caste-based violence and discrimination remain deeply entrenched in rural India. Inter-caste disputes over land, wages, and social status frequently escalate into group violence.

  • Article 17 of the Constitution abolishes untouchability and its practice in any form; the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 provides penalties for enforcement of disability arising from untouchability
  • The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded over 50,900 cases of crimes against SCs in 2022, a significant increase from previous years
  • Caste atrocities are most prevalent in states with large rural SC populations, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh
  • Bihar has a long history of caste-based massacres (e.g., Ranvir Sena incidents in the 1990s) and continues to report inter-caste violence over land and labour disputes

Connection to this news: The Harinagar incident, originating from unpaid wages owed to a Dalit mason and escalating into mass violence by upper-caste community members, illustrates how economic disputes in rural India become entangled with caste hierarchies, triggering the application of protective legislation.

Debate on Misuse of Protective Legislation

The debate over alleged misuse of the SC/ST Act is a recurring issue in Indian jurisprudence and politics. Critics argue that the Act's stringent provisions (non-bailable offences, no anticipatory bail) make it susceptible to misuse, while defenders maintain that weakening the Act would undermine protections for historically oppressed communities.

  • The Supreme Court's 2018 Mahajan judgment (later overturned by Parliament) had cited NCRB data to note that a significant proportion of cases under the Act ended in acquittal, suggesting potential misuse
  • The Parliamentary amendment of 2018 reflected the political consensus that the Act's protections should not be diluted
  • Similar debates exist around the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, and Section 498A of the IPC (now BNS), where courts have noted misuse while maintaining the importance of the protective framework
  • The challenge lies in balancing deterrence against caste atrocities with procedural safeguards to prevent weaponisation of the law

Connection to this news: Bihar Minister Ashok Choudhary's public statement against misuse of the SC/ST Act -- made by a Dalit leader himself -- reflects the complexity of this debate. It acknowledges that misuse erodes public sympathy for Dalits while implicitly recognising that the Act remains essential for their protection.

Key Facts & Data

  • SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act enacted in 1989; comprehensively amended in 2015 and 2018
  • 2018 amendment (Section 18A): No preliminary inquiry for FIR, no prior approval for arrest, anticipatory bail not available -- upheld by Supreme Court in 2020
  • Darbhanga case: 70 named accused, 100-150 unnamed; 12 arrested
  • Harinagar village: Over 2,500 Brahmins, 60-70 Paswan (SC) families
  • Dispute origin: Rs 2.47 lakh in unpaid wages from 2015 construction work
  • NCRB 2022: Over 50,900 cases of crimes against Scheduled Castes recorded nationally
  • Bihar has a history of significant caste violence, including the Ranvir Sena-era massacres of the 1990s