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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU

DATED THIS THE 25^TH DAY OF AUGUST 2021

BEFORE

THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SREENIVAS HARISH KUMAR

CRIMINAL APPEAL No.1038 OF 2021

BETWEEN

Mr. Arjun

S/o G.S.Kempegowda,

Aged about 34 years,

Sub-Inspector of Police

Gonibeedu Police Station,

Mudigere Taluk, Chikkamagalur

Currently residing at

Megharjuna Nilaya

7^th Ward, 7^th Main,

Saraswathipuram,

Tumkur District-570009.

…Appellant

(By Sri C.H.Hanumantharaya, Advocate)

AND

1.

State of Karnataka

By Gonibeedu Police Station,

Mudigere Taluk,

Chikkamagaluru District,

Represented by

State Public Prosecutor,

High Court Building

Bengaluru-560001.

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2.

Mr. Punith K.L.,

S/o Laxmana

Aged about 22 years,

Employed in Kirgunda Village Panchayat

Kirugunda Village, Gonibeedu Hobli,

Mudigere Taluk, Chikkamagalur District

…Respondents

(By Sri P.Thejesh, HCGP for R1;

Sri Sivamanithan, Advocate for R2)

This Criminal Appeal is filed under Section 14A(2) of

SC/ST (POA) Act, praying to grant the appellant the relief

of anticipatory bail with a direction to the SHO of the

Gonibeedu Police Station, Mudigere Taluk, Chikkamagaluru

District to release the appellant on bail after taking

sufficient surety/sureties on his arrest in Cr.No.18/2021

registered on 22.05.2021 for the offence punishable under

Sections 323, 342, 504, 506, 330, 348 of IPC and Section

3(1)(a)(e)(r), 3(2)(va)(vii) of SC/ST (POA) Act pending

before the I Additional District and Sessions Court,

Chikkamagaluru District.

This Criminal Appeal coming on for admission this

day, the court delivered the following:

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JUDGMENT

This is an appeal filed under section 14A of the

Scheduled

Castes

and

the

Scheduled

Tribes

(Prevention of Atrocities) Act (for short hereinafter

referred to as ‘the Act’) since the I Additional Sessions

and Special Judge, Chikkamagaluru, by his order

dated 1.6.2021 dismissed the application of the

appellant filed under section 438 of Cr.P.C.

2. I have heard the arguments of Sri

C.H.Hanumantharaya,

learned

counsel

for

the

appellant,

learned

Government

Pleader

and

Sri

Sivamanithan,

learned

counsel

for

the

second

respondent.

3. On 22.5.2021 the second respondent

reported an incident of atrocity dated 10.5.2021 on

him by the appellant and the same came to be

registered in Cr. No. 18/2021 for the offences

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punishable under sections 323, 342, 504, 506 , 330,

348 of IPC and sections 3(1)(a), (e), (r), and

3(2)(va), (vii) of the Act. The gist of the FIR is that

on 10.5.2021 at about 7.30 AM, some persons

including K.E.Ramesh, K.B.Paramesh came near the

house of the second respondent and asked him to

come out of the house. Fearing that some untoward

incident might take if he would go out, he did not go,

but made a call to No.112 for police protection. The

police came, but since the persons who had gathered

there were very persistent, the police called the

appellant who was the Sub-Inspector of Police at

Gonibeedu Police Station. No sooner the appellant

came to that place, than he asked the second

respondent to get into his jeep, took him to the police

station and asked him about his relationship with a

woman

called

Anuya.

When

he

denied

any

relationship with her, the police stripped him and

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subjected to third degree treatment. It is alleged that

the appellant asked the respondent about his caste

and when he said that he belonged to Scheduled

Caste, the appellant took his caste name and abused

him. He was beaten severely. When he wanted

drinking water, the appellant asked one Chethan who

had been detained in the police station in another case

to urinate into the mouth of the second respondent

and then asked the second respondent to lick the spilt

urine on the floor. Then he was released from the

police station at 10.00 PM.

4.

It

w