FIR under SC/ST Act quashed due to incident in private cattle shed without independent witnesses, unexplained 30-day delay, and mala fides from prior land encroachment settlement and petitioner's theft complaint.

JUDGMENT :

A.S. GADKARI, J.

1) By this Petition under Article 226 of Constitution of India read with Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (‘Cr.P.C.’), the Petitioner is seeking relief of quashing and setting aside the FIR bearing CR No.189 of 2022, dated 27^th December 2022, registered with Pali Police Station, Taluka Sudhagad, District Raigad, under Sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s) of Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

2) Heard Mr. Rajiv Chavan, learned senior Advocate for the Petitioner and Mr. Vinod Chate, learned APP for the Respondent No.1-State. Perused entire record and the Affidavit in Reply filed by the Respondent No.2 dated 21^st August, 2023.

3) Record indicates that, by an Order dated 14^th February, 2023, this Court had directed that, the investigation of the present crime to continue however chargesheet will not be filed without leave of the Court. The said relief was thereafter continued from time to time. By an Order dated 1^st December, 2023, the Petition was admitted and the ad-interim relief granted by Order dated 14^th February, 2023, was confirmed as interim relief.

3.1) It be noted here that, the Respondent No.2 has been duly served with the Notice of the Petition and after admission of Petition, Rule Notice has also been duly served upon Respondent No.2. The note put up by the Registry clearly mentions about the said fact. Despite service of notice and granting an opportunity, non appeared for Respondent No.2.

4) It is the prosecution case that, the Respondent No.2 belongs to Hindu religion and of Katkari Caste. That, there is a water hand pump next to Jambhulpada Kalamb Road adjacent to the village of the Respondent No.2, where the women from the said village fills water. From there, a road leading to the farm house of the Petitioner proceeds. On the side of the said road, there is a cattle shade of Respondent No.2. Recently Petitioner compounded the area where the Respondent No.2 has usage of the footway. The Petitioner had knowledge that, the Respondent No.2 belongs to Katkari community and people of village as Katkaris. That, the land adjacent to Ghodpapad Adivasiwadi was brought by Petitioner and he put a compound of wires thereof three months prior to the date of lodgment of crime. It blocked the said road of Respondent No.2 leading to the said water hand pump. Therefore villagers of Ghodpapad Adivasiwadi had conveyed a meeting of villagers. In the said meeting, the Respondent No.2 alongwith Dnyaneshwar Harishchandra Ghogarkar, Harishchandra Aagasha Waghmare, Ram Nathu Waghmare, Ankush Barku Waghmare, Dnyaneshwar Shantaram Ghogarkar, Govind Tulshiram Waghmare, Kaluram Chander Pawar, Nivrutti Laxman Waghmare and Suresh Kisan Walekar, were present and requested the Petitioner to leave some space for their usage, upon which Petitioner told them ‘you do your work, I will do the work as per my method’ and left the spot.

4.1) That, on 25^th November 2022, at about 5.00 p.m., when the Respondent No.2 was tethering the cattle in his cattle shed the Petitioner came there and started bickering with him in loud voice in Marathi language. At that time, the wife of Respondent No.2 namely Smt. Laxmi Waghmare, his daughter Smt. Vitha Deepak Jadhav, and Shri. Kaluram Pawar from the said village as well as sister of Respondent No.2 namely Smt.Anusaya Harishchandra Ghogarkar, her daughter Ms.Rani Dnya