LI Network
Published on: October 27, 2023 at 16:34 IST
The Karnataka High Court has taken a stance against a litigant who filed three separate complaints under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for the same incident and received Rs 3.5 lakh from the Social Welfare Department to pursue these cases.
In response, the High Court directed the recovery of Rs 1.5 lakh from the complainant. Justice M Nagaprasanna, in his judgment, emphasized the proliferation of frivolous cases, which tend to overshadow genuine cases of abuse suffered by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Justice Nagaprasanna quashed the case pending before a Sessions court in Bagalkot and urged the State to recover the granted aid of Rs 1.5 lakh from the complainant. He deemed the crime to be frivolous, vexatious, and malicious, considering that two other cases based on the same incident were found to be false.
The judgment emphasized the importance of scrutinizing aid requests from the Social Welfare Department to ensure that public funds are allocated to valid cases of abuse against members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, rather than frivolous litigants. Failure to do so was described as rewarding frivolous litigants.
The complainant, a school teacher, had faced dismissal from service, reinstatement, and later claimed abuse and assault based on his caste. The court warned against registering identical complaints at different police stations and vowed to take serious action if such cases continued. This action could include initiating proceedings against the complainant for malicious prosecution and imposing exemplary costs.
The High Court’s ruling sends a strong message against the misuse of provisions in the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, emphasizing the need to maintain the integrity of this important legislation.
