Mumbai, June 30: The Bombay High Court has discharged a woman's brother-in-law and sister-in-law from charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, holding that since the complainant had converted to Islam before the alleged incident, her Scheduled Caste status stood "eclipsed" in law. However, the court directed the accused to face trial for offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including assault and trespass.
High Court Partly Allows Plea
Justice Vrushali Joshi of the Kolhapur Bench of the High Court passed the order on June 25 while partly allowing the accused's plea challenging a special court's refusal to discharge them.
According to the prosecution, the complainant married the brother of one of the applicants. A quarrel allegedly broke out after she asked the applicants to maintain cleanliness in the house, use less water and keep the toilet clean. The applicants allegedly assaulted her, abused her by taking her caste name and trespassed into her house.
An FIR was registered under various provisions of the IPC, the SC/ST Act and the Mumbai Police Act.
Conversion Central To Case
The applicants' advocate, Satyavrat Joshi, argued that the FIR stemmed from a family property dispute and was lodged after a status quo order was passed in their favour in a civil case. They relied on the Supreme Court's ruling in Chinthada Anand v. State of Andhra Pradesh, contending that the complainant had converted to Islam and therefore could not invoke the Atrocities Act.
The prosecution opposed the discharge, arguing that the civil dispute was no ground to throw out the criminal case. It, however, conceded that, in view of the apex court's judgment, the Atrocities Act may not apply after the complainant's conversion, though the IPC offences would still stand.
The High Court noted that in her supplementary statement, the complainant admitted she had converted to Islam at the time of her marriage, changed her name and had since been professing the Muslim faith.
IPC Trial To Continue
Justice Joshi observed, "Once Respondent No. 2 had converted to and started professing the Muslim faith, the caste status which she earlier enjoyed as a member of a Scheduled Caste stood eclipsed. Consequently, the provisions of the Atrocities Act would not be attracted."
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However, the court found that the material on record disclosed a prima facie case under the IPC and held that the applicants "would be required to face trial" for those offences.
The High Court accordingly discharged the applicants from the offences under the SC/ST Act and the Mumbai Police Act while allowing the trial to proceed for the remaining IPC offences.
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