New Delhi: The Supreme Court has taken an important decision on the Atrocity Act. Atrocities cannot be imposed on racial criticism, personal insults, land, and social disputes. The apex court also said that no case will be filed till the person is proved guilty.
This view has been expressed by the Supreme Court in an important decision regarding the interpretation of the SC / ST Act. A bench headed by Justice L Nageshwar Rao passed the order saying, “Under the SC / ST Act, a complaint cannot be lodged as the complainant is a member of the Scheduled Castes.” If the person in the case concerned does not intend to insult the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe then the case will not be registered.
The Bench also clarified that, even if a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe is insulted or threatened, an offense cannot be filed under a special law, unless it is proved that Attempts were made to insult him on the basis of his caste. The crime can be considered only if the relevant case has taken place in front of all four people. Disputes in private, i.e. house or building, cannot be considered an offense under this Act.
The court recorded this important opinion during the hearing on the land dispute in Uttarakhand. After the land dispute, there was a verbal dispute between the plaintiff and the accused. However, the SC / ST Act was mentioned in the FIR filed against him. The court has recorded this observation in this regard.
