Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has granted significant relief to three people, including a father-son duo from Moradabad, in a case registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The court has stayed the proceedings pending before the SC/ST court in Moradabad after the accused challenged the police charge sheet and the trial court’s summoning order.
The case originated from an FIR lodged by Deepak, a resident of Gagan Wali Nahar in the Mainather area of Moradabad, at the Moondhapande police station. He had named Rinku Singh of Rahtganj village in Rampur’s Patwai area, along with Rajesh Singh and his father Karan Singh, residents of the Moondhapande area, as accused.
According to the submissions made before the High Court, the complainant and the two accused had previously worked together at LensKart in Alwar district of Rajasthan. The defence claimed that Deepak was removed from his job by the company over allegations of inadequate work performance. He subsequently allegedly approached his former colleagues and pressured them to help him secure re-employment.
The accused contended that after they failed to help him get his job back, Deepak travelled to Moradabad and lodged the FIR against them as an act of retaliation. Another important argument raised before the High Court was that the alleged incident mentioned in the FIR had taken place in Rajasthan. The defence therefore questioned whether a Moradabad court had territorial jurisdiction over the matter.
The petitioners also pointed out that there was reportedly no independent witness to the alleged incident apart from the complainant. They further argued that no medical examination report had been produced to substantiate the allegations of assault.
After hearing the arguments, the High Court stayed the proceedings of the case pending before the Moradabad court. The order provides temporary relief to the three accused while the legal challenge to the proceedings remains pending.
