The judgment established the principle that for an offence under the SC/ST Act, insults or intimidations must be targeted at the victim because of their scheduled caste or tribe status, and the context and location of the alleged acts are crucial in determining the applicability of the Act.

JUDGMENT :

(Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra, J.)

1. Heard learned counsel for the appellant, learned AGA for the State and perused the material placed on record.

2. Instant Criminal Appeal under Section 14-A (1) of the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 been filed by the appellants to set aside/quash the chargesheet filed in the case by police after investigation against the appellants and set aside the summoning order dated 17.5.2023 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge/Special Judge (SC/ST Act), District Gonda, in Sessions Trial No.453 of 2023, arising out of Case Crime No.0125 of 2023, under Sections 323, 354-Kha, 427, 452, 504, 506 IPC and Sections 3(1)(da), 3(1)(dha), 3(1)(w) and 3(2)(v-a) of SC/ST Act, State vs. Harishchandra and others.

3. As per the office report dated 15.9.2023, notice issued by this Court has been served on respondent No.2 but none appeared on her behalf to press present criminal appeal.

4. Brief facts of the case are that the informant Smt. Kanchan moved an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. before learned Special Judge (SC/ST Act) for registration of case and investigation by police with averments that the applicant belongs to scheduled caste and a poor lady. The accused persons are influential and powerful persons. There is enmity of land dispute between the informant and accused persons. The accused persons are trying to grab her land and to achieve this object, on 28.9.2022, at about 12:00 hours in the day they came to the house of informant armed with clubs, sticks and farsa. They started abusing her, gave beating to her mother-in-law and extended threat of life to her. When the informant went to save her mother-in-law, they started beating her and torn her blouse. The informant came inside her home to save her life, the accused persons trespassed into the house by pushing the door and insulted the applicant and her mother-in-law by using caste specific words. They also abused her and stated to get the house vacated. They began damaging the households and also threw the some goods outside. The localites came and intervened, then the accused persons went away with threatening to vacate the land. Learned Special Judge, SC/ST Act, directed registration of a case and investigation on said application. Police investigated the case and filed chargesheet against accused persons under Sections 504, 506, 323, 354-Kha, 452, 427 IPC and Sections 3(1)(da), 3(1)(dha), 3(1)(w) and 3(2)(v-a) by finding complicity of accused persons. Learned Special Judge took cognizance of the offence on the basis of chargesheet against present appellants and issued summons to them for their appearance to face trial vide order dated 17.5.2023.

5. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the ingredients of Sections 3(1)(da), 3(1)(dha) are not made out in the case. The injuries of informant and her mother-in-law as shown in their respective injury reports are of simple in nature. There is no description of contents or the words allegedly used by the appellants to insult the informant and her mother-in-law by using that they belong to scheduled caste. A perusal of FIR and statements of the witnesses recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C. do not countenance the allegations that the accused persons assaulted or committed any offending act against the informant or her mother-in-law by only reason that they belong to scheduled caste. In fact the appellants have been falsely implicated in the case due to land dispute between the family of informant and accused persons. An FIR antecedent in time to present FIR at the instant of Naina Devi, mother of the appellant Nos.1, 2 and 3 was lodged on 28.9.2022, vide Crime No.413 of 2022, under Sections 323, 504, 506 IPC against Suresh and Brhmadan, who are relatives of present informant and present case is counter blast of said FIR dated 28.9.2022 and in that case also, chargesheet has been filed on 7.10.2022. An application under Sect