The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 came into force on
- (a)1 January 1990
- (b)30 January 1990
- (c)11 September 1989
- (d)12 September 1989
Correct — B, 30 January 1990. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (Act No. 33 of 1989) received the President's assent on 11 September 1989, but it was brought into force by government notification only on 30 January 1990. The date a law is passed/assented and the date it commences are different, and here the commencement date is 30 January 1990.
- (a)1 January 1990 — Not the notified commencement date; no provision of the Act links its coming-into-force to 1 January 1990.
- (c)11 September 1989 — This is the date the Act received the President's assent (its enactment date), not the date it was brought into force.
- (d)12 September 1989 — Has no bearing on the Act; it is neither the assent date nor the commencement date.
A statute's 'enactment' (the date it receives assent) and its 'commencement' (the date it comes into force) can differ — legislatures often leave it to the government to notify the enforcement date. The Atrocities Act was assented on 11 September 1989 but enforced from 30 January 1990. Its implementing SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules followed in 1995.
The trap is picking 11 September 1989 (the assent/enactment date) as the coming-into-force date. Keep the two dates distinct: assent September 1989, enforcement 30 January 1990. The Act supplements the PCR Act, 1955 by targeting atrocities — not just untouchability — against SCs and STs.
- Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 — Act No. 33 of 1989.
- Assented by the President on 11 September 1989; came into force on 30 January 1990.
- It supplements the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, covering atrocities against SCs and STs.
- The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules were notified in 1995 (in force from 31 March 1995).
- 11 Sep 1989 — President's assent (Act 33 of 1989)
- 30 Jan 1990 — Act comes into force
- 31 Mar 1995 — SC/ST (POA) Rules, 1995 come into force
Enactment (assent) and commencement are different dates — the Act came into force on 30 January 1990.
- Treating the assent date (11 September 1989) as the coming-into-force date.
- Confusing the Act's commencement (1990) with the Rules' commencement (1995).
MPPSC favours exact dates and section numbers of the Atrocities Act; the reliable move is to memorise the enactment date and the separate commencement date.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 primarily supplements which earlier law?
- (a)The Indian Penal Code only
- (b)The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955
- (c)The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976
- (d)The Untouchability (Offences) Act repealed in 1955
Answer(b) The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A law that has received the President's assent but whose commencement date has not yet been notified is:
- (a)void
- (b)not yet operative until the commencement date is notified
- (c)automatically in force from the date of assent
- (d)a Directive Principle of State Policy
Answer(b) not operative until its commencement is notified.