The Supreme Court Today (Jan 31) canceled a case against a man booked under the SC/ST Act, ruling that the alleged caste-based abuse did not happen in public view. The court stated that for an offense under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the Act, the insult or abuse must occur in a place where the public can see or hear it. Since the incident happened inside the complainant’s office chamber, the case did not hold legal ground. The court set aside the Madras High Court’s order and quashed all proceedings.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India on Friday canceled a case against a man who was booked under the SC/ST Act. The court said that the incident did not happen in a place where the public could see it.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih explained that under Section 3(1)(r) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, for an offense to take place, it must be proven that the accused intentionally insulted or intimidated a person from the Scheduled Castes (SC) or Scheduled Tribes (ST) community with the intention of humiliating them in a place that is within public view.
The court further said that for an offense under Section 3(1)(s) of the Act, it is necessary that the accused used caste-based abusive words against a person from SC or ST community in a place that is within public view.
“We are, therefore, of the considered view that since the incident has not taken place at a place which can be termed to be a place within public view, the offence would not come under the provisions of either section 3(1)(r) or section 3(1)(s) of the SC-ST Act,”
-held the bench.
Section 3 of the SC/ST Act talks about punishment for atrocities committed against people from these communities.
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The Supreme Court looked at the First Information Report (FIR), which mentioned that the alleged incident took place inside the complainant’s office chamber, and other colleagues came there only after the incident happened.
The court gave this judgment in response to an appeal filed by the accused man, who challenged the February 2024 order of the Madras High Court. Earlier, the Madras High Court had dismissed his request to cancel the case that was being heard in a trial court in Tiruchirappalli.
As per the prosecution, the incident happened in September 2021 when the accused visited the complainant, who was a revenue inspector, to ask about the status of a petition filed in his father’s name regarding the addition of his name in the “patta” (land record document).
A heated argument took place, and during this, the accused allegedly used caste-based abusive words against the complainant inside his office.
Following this, the complainant filed a police complaint, and a case was registered against the accused under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC-ST Act.
After the investigation, the police filed a chargesheet in the Tiruchirappalli trial court.
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The accused was not happy with the criminal proceedings and went to the high court to get the case canceled. However, the Madras High Court rejected his request and said that no harm would be caused if he faced trial.
“It could thus be seen that, to be a place ‘within public view’, the place should be open where the members of the public can witness or hear the utterance made by the accused to the victim,”
-said the Supreme Court.
The court added that if the alleged offense happened inside a closed space where the public was not present, then it cannot be considered to have taken place in public view.
The bench also noted that even if all the allegations in the FIR were accepted as true, they do not fulfill the requirements for an offense under Section 3(1)(r) or Section 3(1)(s) of the Act.
In conclusion, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal, canceled the Madras High Court’s order, and quashed the chargesheet along with all related legal proceedings.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on SC/ST Act
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