Caste-Based Insults Between Husband & Wife Not An Offence Under SC/ST Act Unless Witnessed By Public: Telangana High Court

The Telangana High Court has reiterated that provisions 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act, would apply only when the incident either occurred in a public place or was witnessed by at least one independent witness.The order was passed by Justice E.V. Venugopal in a petition to quash criminal proceedings against the petitioner, who had allegedly insulted her ex-husband using caste based slurs. Relying on the orders passed by the Apex Court in Hitesh Verma vs. State of Uttarkhand and Another and Sudhakar vs State, the bench held:“Upon a perusal of the record and considering the submissions of both parties, this Court finds that the allegations, even if taken at face value, do not disclose that the incident took place in a public place or was witnessed by any independent persons, as required under the law. The alleged acts were part of domestic discord between the parties and appear to have occurred within the confines of a private residence.”Background: The case arises out of a matrimonial dispute between a husband and wife (separated as of now), who belonged to different castes and had had a love marriage. According to the de facto complainant (the husband), his ex-wife, all of a sudden in 2018, demanded a divorce and sent him aggressive messages on WhatsApp, citing cultural differences, mostly related to caste issues. The de-facto complainant agreed to the divorce, but demanded the return of assets. The petitioner herein, although cooperative at first, turned hostile again, refusing to appoint a lawyer or let the elders of the family counsel them. Frustrated by the aggressive behaviour of the petitioner, the de-facto complainant registered a crime under section 504 of the IPC and sections of the SC/ST (POA) Amendment Act, 2015.Praying to quash the same, the ex-wife/petitioner approached the High Court. She contended that the incident was an outcome of a matrimonial dispute and hence could not be covered under section 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act.It was contended that a divorce was granted to the parties long before the filing of the present complaint. It was contended that the offence had taken place in 2018 and the complaint was registered almost 10 months later. The counsel on behalf of the State, on the other hand, contended that witnesses were yet to be examined and thus, the complaint could not be quashed at this stage. The bench, noted “ Accordingly, this Court, while placing reliance on the judgments of the Hon'ble Apex Court in Hitesh Verma v. State of Uttarakhand and Sudhakar v. State, finds it appropriate to interfere under Section 482 Cr.P.C., as the continuation of proceedings before the learned Trial Court, in respect of the alleged offence under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SCs/STs (POA) Act, would amount to an abuse of process of law. The allegations do not meet the statutory requirement of having been committed in public view, and therefore, no prima facie case is made out under the said provisions. In view of the foregoing discussion and findings, this Court holds that the allegations do not satisfy the essential ingredients of Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SCs/STs (POA) Act, as the alleged acts were not committed in public view. Consequently, the continuation of the criminal proceedings against the petitioners would amount to an abuse of the process of law.” Thus, the petition was allowed, and the case was quashed. Crlp NO. 3799 of 2021Counsel for petitioner: Vimal Varma VasireddyCounsel for respondent: E. Ganesh, APPClick Here To Read/Download Order

Caste-Based Insults Between Husband & Wife Not An Offence Under SC/ST Act Unless Witnessed By Public: Telangana High Court

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