HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 11360 of 2025 Court No. - 51 HON'BLE MADAN PAL SINGH, J. 1. Heard Sri Nagendra Kumar Singh, learned counsel for the appellants, Sri Shailendra Kumar Rai, learned counsel for the opposite party no.2, learned AGA for the State and perused the record. 2. Learned counsel for the appellants submits that the entire complaint case has been instituted as a counter blast to the proceedings initiated by appellant no. 1 under Section 138 of the N.I. Act after dishonour of cheque of Rs. 4,00,000/- issued by O.P. No. 2, and the allegations made in the complaint are false, concocted and motivated with malafide intention to pressurize the appellants. It is further contended that even as per the own version of the complaint, the alleged incident dated 20.07.2023 is said to have taken place inside the house of O.P. No. 2 within the four walls, in absence of any independent public witness, and therefore the essential ingredient of “public view” as required under the provisions of the SC/ST Act is completely missing; hence, no offence under Sections 3(1)(Da), 3(1)(Dha) and 3(2)(Va) of the SC/ST Act is made out. Reliance in this regard has been placed upon the law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Hitesh Verma v. State of Uttarakhand, (2020) 10 SCC 710, wherein it has been categorically held that an offence under the SC/ST Act is not made out unless the alleged act is committed in a place within public view. It is thus argued that the continuation of criminal proceedings against the appellants is nothing but an abuse of the process of law and the impugned summoning order deserves to be Versus Counsel for Appellant(s) : Ashok Kumar Mishra, Nagendra Kumar Singh Counsel for Respondent(s) : G.A., Shailendra Kumar Rai Babloo Singh And 2 Others .....Appellant(s) State of U.P. and Another .....Respondent(s) quashed. 3. Learned A.G.A. prays for and is allowed three weeks' time to file counter affidavit. Rejoinder, if any, may be filed within two weeks thereafter. 4. List thereafter. 5. Till then, no coercive steps shall be taken against the appellants in pursuance of the Complaint Case No. 59 of 2023, under Sections 323, 354, 392, 452, 504, 506 IPC and 3(1)(da), 3(1)(dha) and 3 (2)(va) of SC/ST Act. April 22, 2026 pks CRLA No. 11360 of 2025 2 (Madan Pal Singh,J.) Digitally signed by :- PANKAJ KUMAR SRIVASTAVA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad Digitally signed by :- PANKAJ KUMAR SRIVASTAVA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad