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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
Hon'ble Nalin Kumar Srivastava,J.
Kaushal – Appellant
Versus
State of U.P. – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
Nalin Kumar Srivastava, J.
1. This criminal appeal under Section 14-A (1) Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (in short 'the SC/ST Act') has been preferred by the appellant - Kaushal with the prayer to set-aside the cognizance/summoning order dated 2.12.2023 passed by the Special Judge (SC/ST Act) Moradabad, the charge sheet and the entire proceedings of Special Session Trial No. 1771 of 2023, arising out of case crime no. 482 of 2023, under Sections 342 , 504, 506 , 323 IPC and 3(1)(da), 3(1) (dha), 3(2)(5 ka) the SC/ST Act, P.S. Civil Lines, District Moradabad.
2. Heard learned counsel for the appellant as well as the learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the entire record.
3. Prosecution case, as culled out from the record, is that an altercation took place between the named accused persons including the present appellant and the informant side at a coaching centre. It is alleged that after closing of the coaching when the informant was returning to his home in day time, the present appellant alongwith his associates hurled abuses with caste related remarks and threatened him for dire consequences and he was also beaten with kicking and
The court upheld that a prima facie case is sufficient for cognizance under the SC/ST Act, emphasizing that detailed evidence analysis is not required at this stage.
Cognizance under the SC/ST Act cannot be sustained if the informant is not a member of Scheduled Caste or if the involvement is merely circumstantial related to civil disputes.
Insult and abuse by caste name – Intent with which abuses were hurled must be found to be denigrating towards caste, resulting into feeling of caste-based humiliation.
Mere allegations without evidence of public view do not constitute an offence under the SC/ST Act unless insults target caste identity in a public context.
The court ruled that for an offence under the SC/ST Act, abuse must occur in public view, which was not established, leading to quashing of proceedings.
Assault and abuse in public view – Public view is an essential ingredient to constitute offence under Section 3(1) (s) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
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 conte....
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