HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL PETITION No.6179 OF 2010 Dated : 23.08.2010 Between : Battula Venkata Nageswara Rao & others …. Petitioners-A.1 to A.4 a n d The State of A.P. & another … Respondents HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL PETITION No.6179 OF 2010 ORDER: This Criminal Petition is filed by the petitioners-A.1 to A.4 under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking to quash the proceedings in S.C.No.29 of 2010 on the file of the Special Court for trial of SC & ST Atrocities Cases, Ongole, Prakasam District, for the offence punishable under Section 3 (1) (iv) (v) and (x) of SCs & STs (POA) Act (for short, the Act) and 506 of Indian Penal Code arising out of crime No.207 of 2007 of Ongole I Town Police Station. Heard. Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the second respondent during the pendency of Sessions Case submitted a report to the Additional Superintendent of Police, Ongole, with a request to add the offence punishable under the provisions of SCs & STs (POA) Act against the accused. Upon which, the respondent-Police field a memo dated 26.05.2008 before the Magistrate to add section 3 (1) (x) (v) and (x) of SCs & STs (POA) Act, 1989. Basing on the said alteration memo, the said section of law was also added against the petitioners. Hence, he prayed to quash the further proceedings against the petitioners. In an earlier occasion, this Court directed the learned Public Prosecutor to verify as to whether the statements of the witnesses recorded prior to alteration of section of law and after a letter forwarded by a de facto complainant disclose any offence against the petitioners for the offence punishable under the provisions of the Act. On instructions, learned Additional Public Prosecution informed this Court that LWs 1 to 3 were examined on 12.08.2007, 13.08.2007 and 29.11.2007 respectively but none of those witnesses stated anything against the petitioners to attract the offence punishable under the provisions of the Act. Subsequent to that, the statements recorded by the respondent-Police allege the petitioners to have committed the offence punishable under the provisions of the Act. This Court is of the view that the practice of adding a section of law after a lapse of nearly one year should not be allowed to continue in the interests of justice. In that view of the matter, the present complaint before the Special Court for trial of SCs & STs Atrocities Cases, Ongole, is hereby quashed as far as the offence punishable under Section 3 (1) (ix) (v) and (x) of SCs & STs (POA) Act only. In any event, for the remaining offences alleged, the petitioners shall face the trial. If the Special Court is not empowered to proceed further for the remaining offences, the Sessions Case shall be transferred to any other competent Court after getting necessary instructions from the concerned District & Sessions Judge. With above observation, the Criminal Petition is disposed of. ________________________ JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO Dated : 23.08.2010 sur