Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 — back to Table of Contents
Section 18. Section 438 of the Code not to apply to persons committing an offence under the Act
Nothing in section 438 of the Code shall apply in relation to any case involving the arrest of any person on an accusation of having committed an offence under this Act.
Note: Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, provides for anticipatory bail. This section excludes it for offences under this Act. Its constitutional validity has been repeatedly litigated — see the note on Section 18A regarding Subhash Kashinath Mahajan v. State of Maharashtra (2018) and the subsequent review in Union of India v. State of Maharashtra (2019).
