Sns 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.377 OF 2010 IN CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. OF 2010 The State ..Applicant. v/s. Manoj S. Haldankar and Ors. ..Respondents. Ms P.P.Shinde, APP for the Applicant/State. CORAM : J.H.BHATIA, J. DATE : 4th October, 2011 PC : 1 The State seeks leave to prefer appeal against the order of acquittal passed by the learned Judge, Special Court, Ratnagiri in Special Case No.1/2008 for the offence punishable under section 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (Atrocities Act in short) and under section 7(i)(d) of the Protection of Civil Rights Act (PCR Act) and under sections 504 and 323 r/w sec.34 IPC. 2 On perusal of the record, it appears that the complainant claims that his mother belonged to Mahar Caste before she was converted to Buddhism in the year 1956. The complainant himself admitted that he is Navabuddha. The trial Court noted that having converted to Buddhism, his mother ceased to be the member of the scheduled caste within the Sns 2 meaning of Clause 24 of Art.366 of the Constitution of India and as the complainant himself never belonged to Hindu religion and he claimed to be Navabuddha, he also could not claim to be the member of Mahar caste which is scheduled caste under the Constitution of India. Therefore, acquittal of the accused on that ground under the Atrocities Act and the PCR Act can not be faulted. The trial Court also scrutinised the evidence before acquitting the accused for the offences under the IPC. I find no fault with the said judgment and the order of acquittal. 3 In the result, leave to prefer appeal refused and the application stands rejected. (J.H.BHATIA, J.)