Bengaluru: In a significant ruling that underscores the importance of preventing the misuse of protective legislation, the Karnataka High Court has quashed a case filed under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, observing that a purely financial dispute was wrongly projected as a caste-based atrocity.
The judgment was delivered in the case titled Vilas Bhormalji Oswal v. State of Karnataka & Anr. (CRIMINAL PETITION No.5584 OF 2024). The petitioner had approached the court seeking quashing of criminal proceedings initiated against him under the SC/ST Act.
The Court noted that the dispute in question arose out of financial disagreements between business partners, and there was no prima facie evidence of any caste-based abuse or insult with the intention to humiliate the complainant in public view, which is a necessary ingredient to attract the provisions of the Act.
“The so-called eyewitnesses again are to be held to have been procured later, as there is no narration in the complaint that the incident was witnessed by two eyewitnesses nor the eyewitnesses would say that they accompanied the complainant to the ground. Therefore, the statements of witnesses, who are friends of the complainant, cannot be given any credence,” the Court observed.
It further emphasized that the allegations lacked substance and did not even remotely invoke the applicability of the SC/ST Act. “The entire episode of crime is a story twined on a financial dispute,” the Bench added.
Importantly, the Court reiterated a crucial legal principle, stating, “Law, when misused, ceases to be a shield and becomes a sword.” It cautioned against the dilution of the purpose of special legislations like the SC/ST Act by turning them into tools of vendetta in civil or business disputes.
Finding the continuation of trial in such a case to be an abuse of the process of law, the Court allowed the petition and quashed the proceedings against the accused.
This verdict not only brings relief to the petitioner but also sends a strong message on the responsible invocation of special legal provisions designed to protect marginalized communities, ensuring they are not weaponized for personal or business gains.
