IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Crl. Revision No. 47 of 2010(O&M) Date of Decision: July 30, 2010. Jagga Singh ...... PETITIONER(s) Versus Balvir Singh and another ...... RESPONDENT(s) CORAM:- HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RAM CHAND GUPTA Present: Mr. Rajesh Kumar Girdhar, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. Kulbir Sekhon for Mr. respondent No.1. Mr. K.D.Sachdeva, Addl.A.G., Punjab. for respondent No.2. ***** RAM CHAND GUPTA, J.(Oral) The present revision petition has been filed by petitioner-accused under Section 397 of Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter called as ‘Cr.P.C.’) read with Section 401 Cr.P.C. against order dated 07.12.2009 passed by learned Special Judge, Muktsar vide which the petitioner-accused has been charged for offence under Section 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes(Prevention of Atrocities) Act (hereinafter called as the ‘Act’). CRR No.47 of 2010 I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the whole record. It has been contended by learned counsel for the petitioner – accused that he also belongs to Scheduled Caste as per certificate, Annexure P1 issued by the competent authority and hence, no offence under the said Act is made out against the petitioner – accused. Learned counsel for the State on the direction of this Court got verified the fact as to whether petitioner also belongs to Scheduled Caste and filed reply by way of affidavit of Shri Gurdeep Singh PPS, D.S.P., Sub Division, Muktsar on behalf of respondent No.2 stating that the certificate issued in favour of petitioner is a genuine one. Hence, it is contended that the petitioner also belongs to Scheduled Caste in view of the said certificate. Learned counsel for the respondent No.1-complainant has not filed any counter affidavit of respondent No.1– complainant countering the said contention of the petitioner. It is pertinent to reproduce Section 3 of the Act, which reads as under:- “3.Punishments for offences of atrocities (1) Whoever, not being a member of Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, - (i) forces a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance; (ii) acts with intent to cause injury, insult or annoyance to any member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe by dumping excreta, waste matter, carcasses or any other obnoxious substance; (iii) forcibly removes clothes from the person of a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or parades him naked or with painted face or body or commits any similar act which is derogatory to human dignity; (iv) wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or allotted to, or notified by any competent authority to be allotted to, a member of a Scheduled 2 CRR No.47 of 2010 Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him transferred; (v) wrongfully dispossesses a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe from his land or premises or interferes with the enjoyment of his rights over any land, premises or water; (vi) compels or entices a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to do 'begar' or other similar forms of forced or bonded labour other than any compulsory service for public purposes imposed by Government; (vii) forces or intimidates a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe not to vote or to vote to a particular candidate or to vote in a manner other than that provided by law; (viii) institutes false, malicious or vexatious suit or criminal or other legal proceedings against a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe; (ix) gives any false or frivolous information to any public servant and thereby causes such public servant to use his lawful power to the injury or annoyance of a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe; (x) intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe in any place within public view; (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; (xii) being in a position to dominate the will of a woman belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe and uses that position to exploit her sexually to which she would not have otherwise agreed; (xiii) corrupts or fouls the water of any spring, reservoir or any other source ordinarily used by members of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes so as to render it less fit for the purposes for which it is ordinarily used; (xiv) denies a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe any customary right or passage to a place of public resort or obstructs such member so as to prevent him from using or having access to a place of public resort to which other members of public or any section thereof have a right to use or access to; (xv) forces or causes a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to leave his house, village or other place of residence, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to five years and with fine.” 3 CRR No.47 of 2010 A bare perusal of the aforementioned provision of the Act reveals that a person against whom the proceedings under this Act are instituted should not be a member of a Scheduled Caste. Hence, in view of this fact, prima-facie no case for offence under Section 3(1)(x) of the Act is made out against the present petitioner – accused. Hence, the present petition is accepted and the impugned order dated 07.12.2009 framing charge against the petitioner – accused for offence under Section 3(1)(x) of the Act is, hereby, set aside. The present petition is disposed of accordingly. ( RAM CHAND GUPTA ) July 30, 2010. JUDGE 'om' 4