The Maharashtra government said it wants the Centre to amend the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act so that the law is not “misused”, reported The Indian Express. The state government wants the police to carry out a preliminary verification before the law is applied in a case against a person, so that no one gets “falsely implicated” under the Act.

According to the news report, a group of ministers led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis started the process of addressing the demands of the Marathas, Dalits and Other Backward Castes or OBCs. Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said, “If the state government brings to the fore some shortcomings (in the Act) which need a re-look to stop its misuse, it can be considered by the Centre. However, there is unanimity that the Act should remain and serve its stated objective to protect the rights of Dalits and tribals.”

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B R Ambedkar’s grandson and president of the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh, Prakash Ambedkar said the Act can hardly be misused. He said, “The Atrocities Act was recently amended. Earlier, it was a non-bailable offence, but now it is bailable. There are adequate provisions in the law to prevent misuse.” He added that in many cases, Dalits were “used by two groups of Marathas to settle their power tussle” and that it “should be checked.”

This comes in the wake of protests and demonstrations held by Marathas across the state. They have demanded a 16% quota as well as amendments to The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Their protests came after the gangrape and murder case of a 14-year-old in Ahmednagar district's Kopardi village. Marathas have demanded the accused be sentenced to death.

On September 26, Fadnavis said his government was committed to fulfilling the Maratha community's demand for reservation, but the matter was "stuck in a court battle".