Proof That Offence Was Committed Only Because Victim Was SC-ST Member Necessary To Sustain Conviction U/s 3(2)(v) SC-ST (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act: SC [Read Judgment]

In order to sustain a conviction under Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, it must be proved that the offence was committed only on the ground that the victim was a member of the Scheduled Caste, the Supreme Court has reiterated.

The bench comprising Justice R. Banumathi and Justice AS Bopanna set aside the conviction of the accused under the SC-ST Act on the ground that there is nothing to suggest that the offence was committed by the accused only because the deceased belonged to a Scheduled Caste.

In this case [Khuman Singh vs. State of MP], both the trial court and the High Court recorded the finding that the accused scolded the deceased that he belongs to "Khangar" Caste and how he could drive away the cattle of the person belonging to "Thakur" Caste and therefore, thus concluded that the accused has committed the offence under Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The High Court also had affirmed the conviction of the accused for murder.

In appeal, the bench referred to the SC judgment in Dinesh alias Buddha v. State of Rajasthan and observed:

As held by the Supreme Court, the offence must be such so as to attract the offence under Section 3(2)(v) of the Act. The offence must have been committed against the person on the ground that such person is a member of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe. In the present case, the fact that the deceased was belonging to "Khangar"-Scheduled Caste is not disputed. There is no evidence to show that the offence was committed only on the ground that the victim was a member of the Scheduled Caste and therefore, the conviction of the appellant-accused under Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is not sustainable.

The bench then set aside the conviction of the accused under Section 3(2)(v) of the SC-ST Act and also modified the conviction under Section 302 IPC to that under Section 304 Part II IPC and also sentenced the accused to undergo imprisonment to the period already undergone. 

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