HC: Casteist slurs made on mobile phone no offence

HC: Casteist slurs made on mobile phone no offence

Ajay.Sura@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:31.05.2020

The Punjab and Haryana high court has made it clear that casteist remarks made over mobile phone against a Scheduled Caste person does not constitute any offence under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The high court was of the view that uttering of wrong words over phone and in absence of any public view “does not show any intention or mens rea to humiliate the complainant.”

Justice Harnaresh Singh Gill of the high court passed this order on Friday while setting aside an FIR, chargesheet and framing of charges against two persons from Kurukshetra in Haryana. The duo had allegedly used abusive language against the sarpanch of their village over mobile phone.

“Moreover, basic ingredients of the offence in the FIR are that there must be intentional insult, secondly the insult must be done in a public place within public view, which is not in the present case. Thus, the essential ingredients, which must be fulfilled, are not found in the present case. Since these are the penal provisions, the same are to be given a strict construction and if any of the ingredients are found lacking, it would not constitute the offence under the SC/ST Act,” observed Justice Gill while exonerating the petitioners.

The judge also clarified that if two views are possible and one gives rise to suspicion only as distinguished from grave suspicion, the trial judge will be empowered to discharge the accused and at that stage, it is not to be seen whether the trial will end in conviction or acquittal.

3 held for Dalit duo’s death

Three people were arrested for allegedly beating to death two Dalit cousins in rural Patna on Friday night over an old rivalry. Another accused is on the run. All belonged to Ramnagar Manjhi Tola village in Barh subdivision under Ghoswari police station area. SP (Rural) Kantesh Kumar Mishra said the youths, Soldier Manjhi

(19) and Debvrat Manjhi

(17), “went missing on Friday night” and were beaten to death by rods and sticks. Their bodies were spotted by villagers in a drain about 2km from the village around 7.30am on Saturday and police were alerted. TNN