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Section 18: Section 438 of the Code not to apply to persons committing an offence under the Act

Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

No Anticipatory Bail
Statutory Prohibition
Special Court / High Court
Act 1989
Section 17 All 23 Sections of Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 Section 19

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 18

Section 18, reinforced by Section 18A, explicitly prohibits the grant of anticipatory bail under Section 438 CrPC / 482 BNSS, establishing an uncompromising procedural embargo to prevent witness intimidation.

  • Procedural Mechanism: Section 18 provides that nothing in Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall apply to any case involving the arrest of any person accused of having committed an offence under this Act.
  • Exceptions & Statutory Safeguards: The only judicial exception recognized by the Supreme Court is where the allegations in the FIR, even when taken at face value, fail to disclose the prima facie ingredients of an offence under the Act.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Prathvi Raj Chauhan v. Union of India (2020) 4 SCC 727: Upheld the constitutional validity of Section 18A, ruling that pre-arrest bail can only be granted in rarest cases where no prima facie case of atrocity is disclosed upon a reading of the complaint.
  • Union of India v. State of Maharashtra (2019) 10 SCC 432: Three-Judge Bench recalled the directions issued in Subhash Kashinath Mahajan (2018), restoring the legislative command that no preliminary inquiry or administrative approval is needed before arresting an accused under the Act.
  • State of M.P. v. Ram Kishna Balothia (1995) 3 SCC 221: Held that the exclusion of anticipatory bail under Section 18 does not violate Article 21, as members of SC/ST communities require exceptional protection from pre-trial intimidation.
Legal Commentary:

Sections 18 and 18A represent the most fiercely litigated procedural provisions under Indian criminal law. The absolute pre-arrest bail embargo is designed to prevent influential perpetrators from intimidating impoverished victims. While courts may weed out manifestly frivolous or politically motivated complaints where no caste elements exist, prima facie disclosures strictly shut the doors to anticipatory bail.

Section 17 All 23 Sections of Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 Section 19