SC quashes proceedings initiated against accused under SC/ST Act

New Delhi, Dec 8 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday quashed the proceedings initiated against some accused for the alleged offence under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, saying the complainant's house cannot be considered to be within "public view".

However, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta made it clear that proceedings against them for the alleged offences under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) would continue in accordance with law.

The bench delivered its verdict on an appeal filed by the accused challenging an order of July this year of the Allahabad High Court which had upheld a trial court order.

The trial court had summoned the accused to face trial for the alleged offences under the IPC and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, also called the SC/ST Act.

While dealing with the appeal, the top court noted that the high court had held that the complainant's son was beaten by the accused on a public road, in public view, which brought the incident within the ambit of the offence under the provisions of the SC/ST Act.

The bench referred to Section 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act which pertains to punishments for offences of atrocities and deals with abuses by caste name in any place within public view.

It said the application filed earlier by the complainant in the case revealed that the alleged casteist abuses were stated to have been used by the appellants inside the premises of the complainant.

"This circumstance, on its face, does not satisfy the statutory requirement that the abuses were made 'in any place within public view', which is an essential component of the offence under Section 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act," the bench said.

It further said, "The house of the complainant cannot be considered to be within public view".

The bench said the essential requirement of the offence under Section 3(1)(s) of the Act was not satisfied in the case.

It said the high court ought to have exercised its appellate powers to quash the summoning order with respect to offences under the provisions of the SC/ST Act in the case.

"Accordingly, the proceedings initiated against the appellants under Section 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act are hereby quashed. However, the trial insofar as it pertains to the remaining offences under the IPC shall proceed in accordance with law," the bench said.

It was alleged that the accused had hurled caste-based abuses at the complainant and had also assaulted her son in July 2023. PTI ABA ABA KSS KSS