Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has ruled that merely belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe community is not sufficient to attract offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The prosecution must establish specific allegations indicating that the accused intentionally insulted or humiliated the complainant on the grounds of caste.
The order was passed by Justice Santosh Rai while hearing an appeal filed by Amarnath Chaudhary, who had challenged the cognisance and summoning order issued by a special court in Siddharthnagar district.
The case was registered at Itwa police station in Siddharthnagar following allegations that the accused assaulted the complainant after the latter reported an allegedly forged caste certificate. A chargesheet was subsequently filed in the matter.
Chaudhary challenged the proceedings, contending that the FIR did not attribute any caste-related slur or specific caste-based insult to him.
After examining the FIR, the High Court observed that the allegations did not indicate that the complainant had been humiliated on account of belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe community. The court emphasised that a specific allegation of caste-based abuse or intentional humiliation is necessary to establish the ingredients of the offence under the Act.
Accordingly, the court discharged Chaudhary from the offences under the SC/ST Act, holding that the allegations, as recorded in the FIR, did not satisfy the necessary legal requirements.
However, the court clarified that the proceedings relating to the alleged assault would continue. The relief granted to the accused was limited to the offences under the SC/ST Act.
