Thane court acquits couple in Atrocities Act Case

Thane, Sept 12 (PTI) A special court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has acquitted a couple, accused of assault and hurling casteist slurs, holding that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

Additional Sessions Judge A S Bhagwat of the special court handling cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, often referred to as the Atrocities Act or SC/ST Act, also pointed to inconsistencies in the evidence presented.

A copy of the acquittal order of September 10 was made available on Friday.

According to the prosecution, on December 11, 2020, the accused tried to encroach upon the complainant’s land at the Kavesar area in Thane city. The couple allegedly made casteist remarks, assaulted the complainant’s mother and threatened to kill him.

However, the court noted material discrepancies in witness testimonies.

“There is no corroboration from the prosecution witness about abuses allegedly hurled… She only deposed that the accused said to them ‘xxx’, which cannot be termed as abuse,” the court said.

It raised doubts over the testimony of the prosecution witness concerning the claim of assault.

The judge also highlighted that all the witnesses were related to the complainant, and no independent witness was examined.

Acquitting the couple, the judge said, “The prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against the accused for the alleged offences.” PTI COR NR