Can't Prosecute Upper Caste Person Just Because Complainant is from SC/ST Community: Supreme Court

A person belonging to an upper caste can’t be deprived of exercising their legal rights just because their opponent happens to be a member of the SC/ST community, the Supreme Court has ruled. “Offence under the SC/ST Act is not established merely on the fact that the informant is a member of Scheduled Caste unless there is an intention to humiliate a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe for the reason that the victim belongs to such caste,” said a bench, headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao. “All insults or intimidations to a person will not be an offence under the Act unless such insult or intimidation is on account of victim belonging to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe,” said the judge. The court added that an act done by a member of an upper caste to protect his rights won’t automatically bring upon his head the sword of criminal prosecution under the SC/ST Act, saying “the knowledge does not bar, any person to protect his rights by way of a procedure established by law.” The judgment also affirmed its previous rulings that for a criminal offence under the Act to take place, the act has to be done in a public view and not privately, such as inside a house or within four corners of a building. “Since the matter is regarding possession of property pending before the Civil Court, any dispute arising on account of possession of the said property would not disclose an offence under the Act unless the victim is abused, intimated or harassed only for the reason that she belongs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe,” said the bench.