Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has ruled that the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, cannot be invoked by a person who has converted to Islam, even if they originally belonged to a Scheduled Caste before conversion. The observation came while the court partially allowed the plea of a couple seeking discharge from charges filed against them under the SC/ST Act.
The order was passed by the Kolhapur bench of Justice Vrushali V. Joshi in a case arising out of a family dispute involving allegations of assault and caste-based abuse. The complainant, who was born into the Hindu Mahar community, had married a Muslim man in 2011. According to her own statement before the court, she converted to Islam at the time of her marriage, adopted a new name, and has since been professing the Muslim faith.
The dispute reportedly stemmed from property-related disagreements within the family. The complainant alleged that in 2015, an argument broke out after she requested her husband’s sister and brother-in-law, who were temporarily staying with the family, to maintain cleanliness, use water responsibly, and keep the toilet clean. She claimed that the relatives assaulted her and abused her using caste-based slurs despite knowing about her Scheduled Caste background.
Appearing for the accused, advocate Satyavrat Joshi argued that the dispute was essentially civil in nature and linked to an ongoing property disagreement. He contended that the FIR had been lodged falsely after a status quo order in the property dispute was passed in favour of his clients, and therefore no offence under the SC/ST Act was made out.
During the hearing, Additional Public Prosecutor S.V. Gavand acknowledged that, in light of the Supreme Court’s observations in the Chinthada Anand case, a person who has converted to and professes Islam may not be entitled to invoke the provisions of the SC/ST Act, notwithstanding the fact that they belonged to a Scheduled Caste prior to conversion. However, he maintained that this legal position would not affect the allegations constituting offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Accepting this view, the High Court discharged the accused from the charges under the SC/ST Act. At the same time, the bench observed that the material placed on record disclosed a prima facie case regarding the IPC offences alleged in the FIR.
Accordingly, while the Atrocities Act charges were set aside, the court directed that the accused would continue to face trial for the other criminal offences under the IPC.
