JUDGMENT :

1. In the wake of instant surge in COVID – 19 cases and spread of its highly infectious Omicron variant, abundant caution is being maintained, while hearing the matters in the Court, for the safety of all concerned.

2. The above-numbered S.B. Criminal Revision Petition No.275/2001 has been preferred against the judgment dated 30.08.2000 passed by the learned Special Judge, SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act Cases, Bhilwara in Criminal Case No.400/98, whereby the respondents No.2 to 7 have been acquitted from the charges levelled against them; above-numbered S.B. Criminal Revision Petition No.542/2000 has been preferred against the judgment dated 18.07.2000 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Asind, Bhilwara in Criminal Regular Case No.28/96, whereby the respondents No.2 & 3 have been acquitted from the charges levelled against them.

2.1 The prayers made in both the present petitions are to the effect of quashing and setting aside the impugned judgments, and remanding the matter back to the learned trial courts.

3. This Hon’ble Court in the order dated 09.11.2001 has recorded that since the respondent No.7-Laxman in S.B. Criminal Revision Petition No.275/2001 had passed away, therefore, the proceedings against him shall stand dropped accordingly.

4. As regards Revision Petition No.275/2001, the facts, in bare essentials, are that the petitioner’s husband (original complainant Sukhdev, now deceased) had lodged a written first information before the Police Station Badnore, Bhilwara on 14.04.1997, alleging therein that he was a Sijari of the land of Mandir Shri Thakur Narsing Ji Maharaj Sakin Deh, Patan. It was further alleged that on 14.04.1997, while the deceased complainant went to the field at about 9:00 a.m. for sowing the seeds, the accused-respondents came there and started abusing him with caste-based and other abuses; and also threatened him of dire consequences, if he continue with sowing the seeds in the field.

4.1 On the basis of the aforementioned first information, a case No.30/1997 was registered against the accused-respondents; during the course of investigation, the necessary report from the revenue department was obtained alongwith other relevant documents; after investigation, the challan was filed before the learned Magistrate for the offences under Sections 147, 447 & 323 IPC and Section 3(1)(V)(x) of the SC/ST Act; the case however, was transferred to the learned Special Judge, SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act Cases, owing to the nature of the alleged offences under the SC/ST Act.

4.2 The learned trial court, vide the impugned judgment dated 30.08.2000, acquitted the accused-respondents No.2 to 7 from the charges levelled against them; hence, the present Revision Petition No.275/2001 has been preferred by the wife of the complainant, as the original complainant had already expired.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner (original complainant’s wife), in Revision Petition No.275/2001, submits that the revenue report, as produced before the learned trial court clearly shows that the original complainant-Sukhdev (now deceased) was Sijari of the land, entered in the name of the Temple, as above, in the revenue records; the said land was obtained under Sijara from Mahant Ram Krishan, and thus, the original complainant was having the cultivatory rights over the Sijara land, but the accused-respondents unlawfully restrained the original complainant from exercising such cultivatory rights; not only this, the accused-respondents gave beatings to the original complainant, while hurling caste-based abuses against him. Learned counsel further submits that one Shri Ram Krishan Das and two other persons however, came to the rescue of the original complainant.

5.1 Learned counsel also submits that the record clearly reveals that the accused-respondents subjected the original complainant to beatings, encroached upon his agricultural/cultivatory rights and hurled caste-based abuses against him, whil