ORDER

Dr. B. Siva Sankara Rao, J.—The petitioner is A3 of S.C.No.43 of 2016 on the file of the IV Additional Sessions Judge, Kadapa, and belongs to non-Scheduled Caste. The 1st respondent herein is A1 and belongs to Scheduled Caste(for short S.C.) and the 2nd respondent herein is the de facto complainant of Crime No.85 of 2008 of Rajupalem Police Station, Kadapa District. The Police, under the provisions of the Act, after investigation filed the final report and the learned Magistrate from the protest raised by the de facto complainant of the referred report filed by the police with notice to the de facto complainant, on the protest by following the procedure contemplated by Sections 200 to 204 r/w 190 and 209 Cr.P.C. taken cognizance including for the offence under Section 3(2)(v)(a) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for short the Act) in committing the case to the Special Court and the Special Court pursuant to that allotted Sessions Case number and the same is pending.

2. Now, the petitioner/A3 is seeking for transfer to the regular Sessions Court of II Additional Sessions Judge, Kadapa, saying the provisions of the Act have no application, once the cognizance order is for the offence punishable under Section 302 I.P.C. also. There are main contentions raised including the above contentions mainly urged in the transfer petition covered by ground No.8 of the present petition.

3. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner/A3 and the learned Public Prosecutor representing the State/respondent No.3 and learned counsel for respondent No.2/A1, who also supported the contentions in the transfer petition and respondent No.1/de facto complainant did not choose to appear and perused the material on record.

4. Section 3(2)(v) of the Act, 1989 reads as follows:

“commits any offence under the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) punishable with imprisonment for a term of ten years or more against a person or property on the ground that such person is a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or such property belongs to such member, shall be punishable with imprisonment for life and with fine;”

5. By virtue of the provision supra, for the offences punishable of ten years and above committed against a person with knowledge that the victim belongs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, the punishment provided is upto life and with fine also.

6. In fact, in one of the references made, the Division Bench of this Court in Referring Officer rep. by State of A.P. by Public Prosecutor v. Shekar Nair @ Guru and others 1999(3) ALT 533, answering the reference regarding non-application of the provisions of the Act, so far as Section 3(2)(v)(a) of the Act concerned, for an offence punishable above life, particularly, for the offence under Section 302 I.P.C., because regular Court of Sessions can impose a death penalty as maximum punishment provided under Section 302 I.P.C. whereas Special Court, under the provisions of the Act by virtue of Section 3(2)(v)(a) of the Act supra can impose maximum sentence of life with fine at best. The order of reference from para-56 of the judgment in this regard reads as follows:

“56. The next question referred to by the learned single Judge is whether clause (v) of Sub-section (2) of Section 3 is attracted in the case of an offence under Section 302, IPC which is punishable with death or imprisonment for life. Our answer to this question is in the negative. The object of the above provision is to provide for enhanced punishment in regard to offences punishable under IPC with imprisonment for a term of ten years or more, if such offence is committed on the ground that the victim is a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. Where the punishment of not less than imprisonment for life and higher sentence i.e., death sentence is provided for in respect of offences such as the one under Section 302, IPC, the question of applying clause (v) of Section 3 (2) does n