Referring To Someone By Their Profession Doesn't Attract SC/ST Act Offence If No Intent To Humiliate: Allahabad High Court

The Court clarified that such words must be used intentionally to humiliate a victim belonging to the SC/ST Community to constitute an offence under the Act.

A bench of Justice Anil Kumar-X thus partly allowed a criminal appeal filed by a man challenging an August 2024 summoning order passed by the Special Judge under the SC/ST Act in Gautam Budh Nagar.

The appellant was summoned in a complaint case involving sections of the IPC regarding voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult and criminal intimidation (Sections 323, 504, 506 IPC), alongside Sections 3(1)(Da) and 3(1)(Dha) of the SC/ST Act.

Briefly put, it was the allegation of the complainant that she used to wash clothes for the appellant, and one day, when she asked for her dues from the appellant, she was harassed, abused on the road and allegedly called 'casteist' words.

The HC noted that the alleged dispute occurred after the complainant demanded her wages and she had barely mentioned that “जातिसूचक शब्द और धोबिन” words were used by the appellant.

The Court further noted that a contractual relationship existed between the parties, wherein the respondent/complainant used to wash the appellant's clothes.

Thus, the bench added, merely calling a person by referring to his or her profession would not by itself attract the provisions of the SC/ST Act unless it is established that those words were intentionally used with the intent to humiliate the victim belonging to the community of SC/ST.

Apart from this, the bench also addressed the argument of the appellant's counsel that the trial court committed gross illegality by converting the protest petition into a complaint without either explicitly accepting or rejecting the police's final report.

The High Court noted that a specific recital of disagreement with the police report is not mandatory in the order of the Court.

The Court added that if a trial court decides to convert a protest petition into a complaint, it inherently implies that the final report submitted under Section 173(2) CrPC has not been accepted.

Consequently, the High Court partly allowed the appeal. The summoning order as well as the complaint case proceedings, insofar as they relate to offences under Section 3(1) (Da), 3(1)(Dha) SC/ST Act, were quashed.

However, the Court directed that the proceedings in respect of the remaining IPC offences under Sections 323, 504, and 506 shall continue in accordance with law.