HC convicts three under SC/ST Act
CHENNAI, SEPTEMBER 30, 2018 00:00 IST
CHENNAI, SEPTEMBER 30, 2018 00:00 IST
Sentences them to one year of rigorous imprisonment for abusing an individual
In a significant judgment, the Madras High Court has found a 72-year-old retired school teacher, a serving school teacher and an executive guilty of having abused a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste by using the name of his caste in a derogatory manner.
It sentenced them to one year of rigorous imprisonment under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989.
Acquittal reversed
Justice P. Velmurugan reversed their acquittal by the trial court while allowing an appeal preferred by the victim Shanmugam of Vaniyambadi taluk in Vellore district. The judge found the convicts, Venkatachalam, Arun Kumar and Gopi guilty of criminal intimidation also and sentenced them to three months’ rigorous imprisonment for the offence, though both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
“In India, the caste system prevails even now, especially in the villages,” the judge said and added that in some of the villages, non-SC/ST community Hindus would not allow the SC/ST community people into their streets.
‘Living in fear’
“Further, they are not treating the SC/ST community Hindu people with dignity. In some of the villages, SC/ST community people are living in fear,” the judge observed.
The delay of two days in lodging the complaint could have been because of the trauma faced by the Scheduled Caste people.
The convicts had taken a defence that the complaint was lodged only on October 30, 2010, though the alleged incident took place on October 28, 2010.
However, the judge held that the delay would not vitiate the prosecution case against them.
He added that the case could not be eschewed just because the prosecution witnesses also belonged to a Scheduled Caste and that they were the relatives of the complainant.
“In a case of this nature... evidence of other community cannot be expected to support the case of de facto complainant.
“Merely because eyewitnesses are family members and belong to the same community, their evidence cannot be per se discarded,” the judge added.
Nevertheless, in the present case, one of the three witnesses belonged to the convicts’ community and he had deposed in consonance with the evidence adduced by the other witnesses as well as the complainant.
Yet, the Principal District and Sessions Court in Vellore had erred in acquitting all the three accused from the case on June 29, 2012, the judge said.
He cautioned that trial courts should not discard credible evidences without a valid reason.
“Merely because eyewitnesses are family members, their evidence cannot be per se discarded
In a significant judgment, the Madras High Court has found a 72-year-old retired school teacher, a serving school teacher and an executive guilty of having abused a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste by using the name of his caste in a derogatory manner.
It sentenced them to one year of rigorous imprisonment under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989.
Acquittal reversed
Justice P. Velmurugan reversed their acquittal by the trial court while allowing an appeal preferred by the victim Shanmugam of Vaniyambadi taluk in Vellore district. The judge found the convicts, Venkatachalam, Arun Kumar and Gopi guilty of criminal intimidation also and sentenced them to three months’ rigorous imprisonment for the offence, though both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.
“In India, the caste system prevails even now, especially in the villages,” the judge said and added that in some of the villages, non-SC/ST community Hindus would not allow the SC/ST community people into their streets.
‘Living in fear’
“Further, they are not treating the SC/ST community Hindu people with dignity. In some of the villages, SC/ST community people are living in fear,” the judge observed.
The delay of two days in lodging the complaint could have been because of the trauma faced by the Scheduled Caste people.
The convicts had taken a defence that the complaint was lodged only on October 30, 2010, though the alleged incident took place on October 28, 2010.
However, the judge held that the delay would not vitiate the prosecution case against them.
He added that the case could not be eschewed just because the prosecution witnesses also belonged to a Scheduled Caste and that they were the relatives of the complainant.
“In a case of this nature... evidence of other community cannot be expected to support the case of de facto complainant.
“Merely because eyewitnesses are family members and belong to the same community, their evidence cannot be per se discarded,” the judge added.
Nevertheless, in the present case, one of the three witnesses belonged to the convicts’ community and he had deposed in consonance with the evidence adduced by the other witnesses as well as the complainant.
Yet, the Principal District and Sessions Court in Vellore had erred in acquitting all the three accused from the case on June 29, 2012, the judge said.
He cautioned that trial courts should not discard credible evidences without a valid reason.
“Merely because eyewitnesses are family members, their evidence cannot be per se discarded
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