HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 3016 of 2026 Court No. - 51 HON'BLE MADAN PAL SINGH, J. Heard Sri Pankaj Dwivedi, learned counsel for the appellant, and learned A.G.A. for the State, and perused the entire record. Sri Sunil Kumar Kushwaha, learned A.G.A., submitted that notice has been duly served upon opposite party no.2. 1. This Criminal Appeal under Section 14-A(1) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has been preferred for quashing the charge-sheet dated 08.11.2023, the summoning order dated 19.07.2024, as well as the entire proceedings of Sessions Case No. 1428 of 2024, arising out of Case Crime No. 383 of 2023, under Sections 354, 452, 504 and 506 I.P.C. and Sections 3(1)(Da), 3(1)(Dha), 3(1)(w) and 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST Act. 2. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the entire prosecution case is false, concocted and has been instituted with ulterior motives. He invited the attention of the Court towards the site plan prepared by the Investigating Officer, which reflects that the place of occurrence marked as ‘A’ is situated inside the room. He further submits that the informant is a tenant of the appellant and, upon demand of rent, she lodged the present false and fabricated case against him. It is thus argued that no offence under Sections 354, 452, 504 and 506 I.P.C. or under the provisions of the SC/ST Act is made out against the appellant. 3. Learned counsel further contends that the impugned cognizance and summoning order dated 19.07.2024 has been passed in a mechanical manner without proper application of judicial mind. It is submitted that the 4. Versus Counsel for Appellant(s) : Pankaj Dwivedi Counsel for Respondent(s) : G.A. Sukha @ Rafik Khan .....Appellant(s) State of U.P. and Another .....Respondent(s) appellant has been falsely implicated due to a monetary dispute and that the prosecution has been launched only to harass and humiliate him. Per contra, learned A.G.A. vehemently opposed the appeal and submitted that from a perusal of the charge-sheet and summoning order, it cannot be said that no offence under the SC/ST Act is made out against the appellant. 5. I have considered the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the parties and have carefully perused the entire record, including the First Information Report, charge-sheet and the statements of the informant and other witnesses recorded during investigation. 6. From the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the appellant and upon perusal of the record, it prima facie appears that the essential ingredients constituting the offences under the provisions of the SC/ST Act are not made out against the appellant, particularly insofar as the offences under the SC/ST Act are concerned. 7. It is well settled that for attracting the provisions of Sections 3(1)(Da), 3(1)(Dha), 3(1)(w) and 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST Act, the prosecution must prima facie establish that the accused intentionally insulted or intimidated the victim with intent to humiliate such person on the ground that he or she belongs to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, and that such act was committed in a place within public view. 8. In the present case, there is not even a whisper in the First Information Report or in the statements recorded during investigation to show that the appellant acted with the requisite mens rea to humiliate the informant on the basis of caste. Mere use of abusive language or involvement in a scuffle, without the foundational requirement of caste-based intent, does not attract the rigours of the SC/ST Act. 9. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in Hitesh Verma v. State of Uttarakhand, reported in (2020) 10 SCC 710 : 2020 SCC OnLine SC 907, has categorically held that an offence under the Act is not established merely because the informant belongs to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, unless there is an intention to humiliate such person on account of caste. 10. Applying the aforesaid settled legal principles to the facts of the present case, it is manifest that the essential 11. CRLA No. 3016 of 2026 2 ingredients of the offences under the SC/ST Act are wholly absent. Continuation of the criminal proceedings against the appellant under the provisions of the SC/ST Act would, therefore, amount to an abuse of the process of law. Accordingly, the charge-sheet dated 08.11.2023 and the cognizance/summoning order dated 19.07.2024, insofar as they relate to offences under Sections 3(1)(Da), 3(1)(Dha), 3(1)(w) and 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST Act, are liable to be quashed and are hereby quashed. However, the proceedings in respect of offences under Sections 354, 452, 504 and 506 I.P.C. shall continue in accordance with law. 12. In view of the aforesaid, the present criminal appeal is partly allowed. 13. May 7, 2026 pks CRLA No. 3016 of 2026 3 (Madan Pal Singh,J.) Digitally signed by :- PANKAJ KUMAR SRIVASTAVA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad