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IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD
J. SREENIVAS RAO
M. Rathnamala – Appellant
Versus
State of Telangana – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. quashing a criminal petition based on insufficient grounds of caste-specific abuse. (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. context of allegations must satisfy public view requirement for sc/st act offences. (Para 3 , 9 , 11 , 12) |
| 3. contentions regarding the legitimacy of criminal charges against petitioners. (Para 5 , 6) |
| 4. decision to quash proceedings based on abuse of process. (Para 14 , 15) |
ORDER :
This Criminal Petition has been filed by the petitioners/accused Nos.1 to 9, seeking to quash the proceedings in Crime No.361 of 2021 on the file of the Medchal Police Station, Cyberabad, for the offences punishable under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short ‘IPC’) and Sections 3(i)(l)(r) and 3(i)(l)(s) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention Of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 (for short ‘SC/ST (POA) Amendment Act’).
3. When the matter was taken up for consideration on 13.10.2025, there was no representation on behalf of respondent No.2, either in physical mode or virtual mode. To give one opportunity, the matter was posted to 16.10.2025 under the caption ‘for orders’. On 17.10.2025 also, there was no representation on behalf of respondent No.2. However,
Charges under SC/ST Act require intentional, public misconduct; private disputes don’t meet criteria for offences.
Section 3(1)(r) of the SC and ST Act makes it manifest that mere insult or intimidation with an intention to humiliate a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe by itself is not made an offence.....
Vague and omnibus allegations against relatives residing separately without specific roles in a matrimonial dispute cannot sustain a prosecution under IPC and SC/ST Act, amounting to an abuse of proc....
The court quashed proceedings under the SC/ST Act due to lack of public view in the alleged incident, emphasizing the need for specific ingredients to establish the offence.
Allegations of caste-based abuse must occur in public view to be actionable under the SC/ST (POA) Amendment Act; domestic disputes are not covered under this statute.
Disputed facts should be decided in trial, and criminal complaints cannot be quashed solely on the ground that the allegations are civil in nature.
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