In case FIR No.191/2021 of P/S Kishtwar initiated under Section 3 of the Prevention of Atrocities against SC/ST Act 1989 and 500, 506 IPC, Principal District and Session Judge Kishtwar today granted bail to Ved Parkash Shan Sarpanch from block Drabshallla.
According to details obtained by The Chenab Times, after hearing the applicant’s counsel, Advocate Shaik Saroori, it was argued that the FIR is politically motivated and that the alleged conversation between the two persons does not fall under section 3 of the Atrocities Act 1989. It was also based on Hitesh verma Vs State of Uttrakhand, where the court stated that the alleged conversation did not fall under section 3 of the Atrocities Act 1989.
The Supreme Court recently reinforced its strong position on the meaning of the terms “in any location within public view” in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in Hitesh Verma v. State of Uttarakhand.
In this case, the victim claimed in her FIR that six people from a (so-called) upper caste had broken into her home illegally and threatened her with severe repercussions. They took away construction materials and declared, “You are from a bad caste, and we will not let you dwell in this region,” using casteist statements.
The court ruled that because the victim, a Scheduled Caste (SC), was abused within the four walls of her home, the criteria of “at any place within public view” was not met. As a result, the charge-sheet was overturned to that degree by the court.
Since Sec 3 of the Atrocities to SC ST Act 1989 does not apply in this case because the alleged occurrence did not occur in a public place, and moreover, the basic investigation was conducted by an inspector, which is not provided for in the atrocities act, as only officers not below the rank of DYsp are allowed to investigate the matter, which is another flaw in this case.
Finally, on the 4th day of September 2021, after hearing from the applicant’s counsel, Advocate Shaik Saroori, and learned Special Public Prosecutor Temoor Jahangir Khan, the court adjourned the case and on the 6th day of September 2021, the learned Court released Ved Parkash Sarpanch from judicial custody.
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Asif Iqbal Naik is a senior journalist and Senior Advisor at The Chenab Times
