Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court held that a person’s Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe status alone cannot attract provisions of the SC/ST Act, observing that all essential ingredients of the offence must be established.The HC made the observations while quashing criminal proceedings against the accused insofar as the charges under the SC/ST Act were concerned. The dispute stemmed from a property transaction, but the provisions of the SC/ST Act were invoked solely because the complainant belonged to a Scheduled Caste.Partly allowing the criminal appeal filed by Raju Kuraishi and four other accused, Justice Santosh Rai said, “As far as the offence under the SC/ST Act is concerned, there is no material in the FIR lodged at Loni police station in Ghaziabad. or case diary to indicate that the accused applicants used any caste-based words or abused, insulted or humiliated the victim on the ground of his belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. Admittedly, the dispute between the parties essentially arises from a transaction concerning the sale of the disputed property.”In a Sept 8 ruling, the HC directed that the accused be discharged of offences under the SC/ST Act, while modifying the order of the special judge, SC/ST Act, Ghaziabad to that extent.However, the high court made it clear that the criminal proceedings would continue insofar as other offences, such as cheating, are concerned.
