Condemning the decision to amend the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, members of various Dalit outfits and organisations staged a demonstration here on Tuesday.

Led by P.P. Palanisamy, district secretary, Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front, members said that the Supreme Court had laid down stringent norms before registering a case under the SC/ST Act that was in place from 1989. They wanted both the Central government and the Supreme Court to annex the Act to the 9th Schedule of the Constitution.