JUDGMENT :

Prayer: Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code to call for the records in Spl.S.C.No.7 of 2020, on the file of the learned Principal District and Sessions Judge, Tiruppur and quash the chragesheet, in Spl.S.C.No.7 of 2020, on the file of the learned Principal District and Sessions Judge, Tiruppur.

1. This petition has been filed seeking to quash the chragesheet in Spl.S.C.No.7 of 2020, on the file of the learned Principal District and Sessions Judge, Tiruppur.

2. By an order passed by the Hon'ble The Chief Justice dated 22.02.2020, this quash petition has been listed before this Court for hearing along with Crl.O.P.No.34420 of 2019, seeking pre-arrest bail for the petitioner.

3. Totally there are five accused and the petitioner is arrayed as A1. Earlier, based on the complaint dated 25.06.2019, given by the third respondent/defacto complainant herein, a FIR has been registered by the second respondent, in Crime No.658 of 2019, for offencce under Sections 324, 294(b) and 506(ii) of IPC, against two unnamed accused.

4. The allegation in the FIR was that, the third respondent is a practicing Advocate, on 25.06.2019, at about 08.00 p.m. somebody called the third respondent and wanted to discuss with him regarding a case and asked him to come near a departmental store at Uthukuli road, Tiruppur. The third respondent also went to the said place, and two persons came there in a motorcycle, abused the third respondent in filthy language and attacked him with wooden log. When he raised alarm, they ran away from the scene of occurrence, thereafter the defacto complainant was admitted in a Government Hospital at Tiruppur, and based on his statement FIR has been registered.

5. Subsequently, on the further statement given by the defacto complainant, stating that the petitioner was a client of the third respondent/defacto complainant, and requested him to issue a legal notice to one Mr.Senthilkumar, and also paid the fees. But the third respondent failed to issue legal notice in time, feeling aggrieved, the petitioner approached A2, to attack the third respondent, and also paid Rs.20,000/- to him. Thereafter, A2 engaged A3 to A5 to complete the mission, pursuant to the same, A3 and A4 attacked the defacto complainant.

6. It is further stated that, the third respondent belongs to a Scheduled Castes community, knowing that fully well all the accused have committed the offence. Based on that statement, the FIR was altered and the petitioner was implicated for the offence under Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, (hereinafter referred to as 'the SC/ST Act'). Thereafter the investigation was transferred to the file of the first respondent and a fresh investigation has been conducted. In the mean time, to quash the FIR, the petitioner has filed the present petition. Pending the same, investigation has been completed and final report was filed before the learned Principal District and Sessions Judge, Tiruppur and the same was also taken congnizance and pending in Spl.S.C.No.7 of 2020. Thereafter, the petitioner filed, Crl.M.P.No.2377 of 2021, to amend the prayer to quash the criminal proceedings, which was also allowed by this Court.

7. Mr.S.Anantha Narayanan, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that, the allegations made in the final report do not prima facie constitute any offence against the petitioner and the allegations made therein are totally absurd, inherently improbable and the criminal proceedings has been initiated with mala fide intention with ulterior motive. Absolutely there is no material available on record to make out an offence under Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST Act.

8. The learned senior counsel further submitted that the petitioner was a client of the third respondent. Admittedly two unknown persons are stated to have attacked the third respondent and based on his own statement compliant has been