The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on May 3 the Centre’s plea seeking a review of the court’s verdict on the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, PTI reported. Attorney General KK Venugopal told Justice AK Goel and Deepak Gupta that he had filed his submission on the matter.

On March 20, the Supreme Court had said that a public servant accused under the law cannot be taken into custody until an officer, not below the rank of deputy superintendent, conducts a preliminary inquiry. The order sparked outrage across the country, and 11 people died and hundreds were detained in violence during protests against it on April 2. The Centre then filed the review petition, and said the judgment had created anger and disharmony.

Earlier this month, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said that the government would argue the matter with full authority in the top court and appeal for reconsideration. “On behalf of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, every comprehensive review has been filed and the government, with due respect, does not agree with the reasoning given by the top court.”