Astha
The Supreme Court said that nothing is an offence under the SC/ST Act if the words spoken are in absence of the public view.
Stressing on the intention, the bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta, and Ajay Rastogi said that not every remark made against the vulnerable section of the society will be punishable under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act if there is no intention to humiliate.
The Supreme Court, said that it was a dispute of land and “any dispute arising on account of possession of the said property would not disclose an offence under the [SC/ST] Act unless the victim is abused, intimated or harassed only for the reason that she belongs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.”
The top court further said that “offence under the 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.”
The SC/ST Act intended to punish acts against any vulnerable section of the society merely due to their belonging of community. The basic elements of the offence under Section 3(1)(r) of the Act include intentionally insulting within the public eye to humiliate the person of the caste.
In 2019, the woman had filed a suit against Verma, accusing him of being a casteist, abusing her and her labourers, and refraining them from construction by taking away their material.
Subsequently, Verma had filed a case against the woman, contending all the false allegations.
The appeal was filed by Hitesh Verma residing in Uttrakhand about the dispute of possession of the land against the High Court’s order. The High Court had quashed the plea to file the charge sheet and summoning orders.
The top court said that Verma will continue to face the trial for other allegations mentioned in the FIR.