7. cr wp 2768-10.doc RMA IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO. 2768 OF 2010 Mustufa Ismail Tadavi .. Petitioner Vs The State of Maharashtra & Anr .. Respondents Mr. R.M. Pethe for the Petitioner Ms. U.V. Kejariwal, APP for the State CORAM : SMT. V.K. TAHILRAMANI, J DATE : 5th OCTOBER, 2010. P.C.: 1. Leave to amend. Amendment be carried out forthwith. 2. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned APP for the State. 3. The petitioner-original accused is seeking quashing of C.R. No. 17 of 2010 registered at Mhasala Police Station. The said C.R. is under Sections 3(1)(xi) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and under Section 354 of IPC. Hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'. The learned advocate for the petitioner states that he is only pressing for quashing of the provisions under the Act and he is not pressing for quashing of offence under Section 354 of IPC. 4. Learned advocate for the petitioner submitted that the 1 7. cr wp 2768-10.doc petitioner belongs to a Scheduled Tribe. He has relied on caste certificate which shows that the petitioner belongs to a Schedule Tribe. Learned APP was asked to verify the fact whether the petitioner belongs to a Scheduled Tribe. Learned APP stated on instructions given by P.N. Birajdar, PI Mhasala Police Station, Raigad, that the petitioner indeed belongs to a Scheduled Tribe. The learned advocate for the petitioner further submitted that an offence can be made out under Section 3 of the Act against a person if he is not a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. However, as the petitioner is a member of a Schedule Tribe, no offence can be said to made out under Section 3 of the said Act. 5. Section 3(1)(xi) reads as under: "3. Punishment for offences of atrocities-(1)Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe- .................. (xi) assaults or uses force to any woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonour or outrage her modesty; ................" From the provisions of Section 3 of the Act, it is very clear that only a person who is not a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, can be made an accused under this Section. Thus, as the petitioner 2 7. cr wp 2768-10.doc himself belongs to a Scheduled Tribe, no case can be said to be made out against him under Section 3(1)(xi) of the Act. Thus, the FIR is quashed as far as Section 3(1)(xi) is concerned. As learned advocate for the petitioner stated that he is not pressing for quashing of Section 354 of IPC, the said aspect has been gone into by this Court. 6. Application disposed of. [SMT. V.K. TAHILRAMANI, J.] 3 7. cr wp 2768-10.doc 4