When an FIR is filed for a crime or atrocity committed against a member of the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes, no preliminary inquiry needs to be conducted by the investigation officer before the said filing.
The investigation officer does not require any prior approval of his seniors for arresting any person accused of committing a crime under this law either.
Moreover, a person who fears arrest for crimes that he may or may not have committed under this law cannot file for anticipatory bail.(( Section 18A, Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.))