A person belonging to a higher caste cannot be deprived of exercising his legal rights just because his opponent is a member of the SC / ST community, the Supreme Court has ruled.
In a remarkable judgment on the interpretation of the law that protects SC / ST communities from outrage, the court has held that someone cannot be prosecuted simply because the complainant is from a Listed Caste (SC) or a Listed Tribe ( ST).
“The offense under the SC / ST Act is not established simply on the fact that the informant is a member of the recognized caste unless there is the intention to humiliate a member of the recognized caste or the tribe programmed by the reason that the victim belongs to that caste, “said a bank, headed by Judge L Nageswara Rao.
In sentencing the court, Judge Hemant Gupta held that even launching abuse will not constitute a crime under the special law until it can be shown that it was done solely for the purpose of humiliating a member of the SC / ST community.
“All insults or intimidation of a person will not be a crime under the Law unless said insult or intimidation is due to the victim who belongs to the Caste or Programmed Tribe,” said the judge.
The court added that an act carried out by a member of a higher caste to protect his rights will not automatically bring the sword of criminal prosecution under the SC / ST Act upon his head, saying that “knowledge (of the opponent’s caste) does not bar , any person who protects their rights through a procedure established by law “.
The ruling also affirmed its earlier rulings that for a crime to occur under the Act, the act must be done in public view and not in private, such as inside a house or within the four corners of a building.
The court made these clarifications when it annulled the criminal prosecution of a man, accused of launching caste abuses against a woman.
He noted that the two had a land dispute in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand and that the two had filed civil suits against each other to enforce their rights.
The FIR under the SC / ST Law was registered at the request of the woman, who denounced that the defendant and his associates forcibly prevented her from cultivating the fields and also abused her.
Looking at the facts of the case, the court held that not only was the alleged act carried out within the four walls of a house and, therefore, not in public view, the assertion of title to the land by anyone Nor was it due to the fact that the woman belonged to the SC / ST community.
“Since the matter is about possession of property pending before the Civil Court, any dispute arising out of possession of such property will not reveal a crime under the law unless the victim is abused, intimidated or harassed only by the reason for a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, “said the bank.
It exonerated the petitioner from the charges under Law SC / ST and added that the prosecution for the crimes of criminal intimidation and trespassing will continue.
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