Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2025 Supreme(All) 34

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
DINESH PATHAK, J.
Sandhya Dwivedi - Appellant
Versus
State of U.P. and Another - Respondents
Application U/S 482 No.37113 of 2024
Decided on : 21-03-2025

Advocates:
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant : Raghuvansh Misra, Yogesh Kumar Singh
For the Respondent: Rajan, Sunil Kumar, G.A.

For an offence under the SC/ST Act, there must be intent to humiliate based on caste identity; mere membership in a Scheduled Caste is insufficient.

Headnote:
(A) Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 - Section 482 - Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 - Sections 3(1)(Dha) and 3(2)(va) - Quashing of criminal proceedings - Applicant sought to quash charge sheet and cognizance order regarding allegations of criminal intimidation and caste-based abuses - Court found that the incident occurred within the private residence of the accused, thus not within public view, and no prima facie case under SC/ST Act was established - The court emphasized that mere membership in a Scheduled Caste does not suffice for a claim under the SC/ST Act without intent to humiliate - Resultantly, the proceedings under the SC/ST Act were quashed. (Paras 4, 6, 8, 14, 15)

(B) Intent to Humiliate - The court ruled that for an offence under the SC/ST Act, there must be an intention to insult or intimidate based on caste identity, not merely because the victim belongs to a Scheduled Caste. (Paras 9, 12)

(C) Abuse of Process - The court reaffirmed its authority to quash proceedings that constitute an abuse of legal process to secure justice. (Paras 13, 15)

JUDGMENT :

Dinesh Pathak, J.

1. Heard learned counsel for the applicant, learned counsel for the opposite party No. 2 and learned A.G.A.

2. Learned counsel for the opposite party No. 2 has refused to file counter affidavit to the instant application under Section 482 Cr.P.C . and given his consent to decide the same on merits. Likewise learned A.G.A. has no objection to decide the instant application on merits as well.

3. In view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of the present case and order proposed to be passed hereinunder, this Court proceeds to decide the instant application finally with the consent of counsel for the parties present without calling for their respective affidavits.

4. The applicant has invoked the inherent jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C . to quash the entire criminal proceeding, as well as Charge sheet dated 21.06.2023 and Cognizance/Summoning order dated 23.02.2024, in Sessions Case No. 162 of 2024 (Jaiprakash Dwivedi and Others Vs. State), arising out of Case Crime No. 40 of 2023 under Sections 143, 504, 506 of I.P.C. and Sections 3(1)(Dha) and 3(2)(va) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (in brevity 'SC/ST Act'), Police Station-Kotwali City, District- Mirzapur, pending in the court of Special Judge (S.C./S.T. Act), Mirzapur.

5. Respondent no.2 has moved an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C . levelling allegation of criminal intimidation, intentional insult and offence under Sections 3(1)(Dha) and 3(2)(va) of SC/ST Act against six named accused, including the present applicant. In pursuance of the order passed in aforesaid application, an FIR dated 22.04.2023, being Case Crime No. 0040/2023, has been lodged with an averment that complainant/first informant is a senior lecturer/ad hoc Principal of Adarsh Inter College, Visundarpur, Mirzapur. In pursuance of an order passed by the District Magistrate, he has unfurled the National Flag on Republic Day i.e. 26.1.2023 alongwith employees and students of the school, however, owing to caste-based hatred, the Manager of the School marked him absent on the said date and deducted his salary. Moreover, having been inimical with the first informant, accused nos. 1 and 2, namely, Akhilesh Chand Dwivedi and Smt. Sandhya Dwivedi have called upon him on 31.1.2023 at 11 AM at their residence on the 2nd floor, and they alongwith other accused unanimously threatened the first informant for life and uttered caste-based abusive languages viz. "Pasi", "Chamar", "Siyar" alongwith other derogatory remarks about his mother and sister. On 02.2.2023, all the accused persons went to the school and played mischievous (tampered) with the relevant documents of the school, they are throughout threatened to the first informant for life. It has also been averred in the FIR that on 31.1.2023, while he was being taken to the house of the accused persons, he rang to his wife and a relative who were present at the time of incident, while he was being harassed and abused.

6. Learned counsel for the applicant has questioned the criminal proceeding solely for the alleged occurrence of offence under Sections 3(1)(Dha) and 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST Act and submits that by any stretch of imagination, no offence is made out under Sections 3(1)(Dha) and 3(2) (va) of the SC/ST Act, inasmuch as place of occurrence of offence as averred in the FIR is within the four walls of house of the accused where no person of public was present and incident in house cannot be said to be a place within the public view. The second submission advanced by the learned counsel for the applicant is that the victim/first informant cannot be said to be abused or harassed, if any, merely because of his caste that he belongs to the Scheduled Caste community.

7. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondent no.2 has vehemently opposed the submissions as advanced by the learned counsel for the appellant and contended that at the time of occurrence of incident, th