Bombay High Court
Taiseem Afjal Shah S/O. Afjal ... vs State Of Maharashtra Thr. P.S.O. ... on 31 August, 2017
Bench: V.A. Naik
3108apl100.17-Judgment 1/7
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR.
CRIMINAL APPLICATION (APL) NO. 100 OF 2017
APPLICANTS :- 1. Taiseem Afjal Shah S/o Afjal Hussain Shah,
Age : 20 Years, Occ.:- Education, R/o Behind
Madina Masjid, Goutam Nagar, Gondiya.
2. Rafiq S/o Tar Mohammad Shekh, Age : 38
Years, Occ:- Private, R/o Behind Madina
Masjid Goutam Nagar, Gondiya.
3. Salim Qureshi S/o Mohd. Sharif, Age : 47
Years, Occ:- Private, R/o Behind Madina
Masjid Goutam Nagar, Gondiya.
4. Arman S/o Mehmood Shekh, Age : 23 Years,
Occ:- Labor, R/o Behind Madina Masjid
Goutam Nagar, Gondiya.
5. Toufiq S/o Pyaru Pathan, Age : 22 Years,
Occ:- Labor, R/o Behind Madina Masjid
Goutam Nagar, Gondiya.
6. Rahmat Husain Shah, Age : 48 Years, Occ:-
Private, R/o Behind Madina Masjid Goutam
Nagar, Gondiya.
7. Shahid Rahmat Shah, Age : 19 Years, Occ:-
Private, R/o Behind Madina Masjid Goutam
Nagar, Gondiya.
8. Sayyad Khurshid S/o Sayyad Yasin, Age : 50
Years, Occ :- Private, R/o Behind Madina
Masjid Goutam Nagar, Gondiya.
9. Sandip S/o Lilaram Choudhari, Age : 18
Years, Occ:- Private, R/o Behind Madina
Masjid Goutam Nagar, Gondiya.
...VERSUS...
::: Uploaded on - 05/09/2017 ::: Downloaded on - 07/09/2017 01:30:54 :::
3108apl100.17-Judgment 2/7
NON-APPLICANTS:- 1. State of Maharashtra, Through P.S.O.
Gondia [City], Gondia.
2. State of Maharashtra, Through Deputy Sub-
Divisional Police Officer, Gondia [City],
Gondia.
3. Ranjit S/o Ganesh Ragade, Age : 42 Years,
Occ:- Private, R/o. Sawaratoli, Subhash
Ward, Gondia.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. N.S.Giripunje, counsel for the applicants.
Mr.A.M.Joshi, Addl.Public Prosecutor for the non-applicant Nos.1 & 2.
None for the non-applicant No.3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CORAM : SMT. VASANTI A NAIK &
M. G. GIRATKAR
, JJ.
DATED : 31.08.2017
O R A L J U D G M E N T (Per : Smt.Vasanti A Naik, J.)
The criminal application is admitted and heard finally at
the stage of admission as the notice was issued to the non-applicants on
22/02/2017 and all the non-applicants are duly served.
2. By this criminal application, the applicants seek the
quashing and setting aside of the first information report No.8 of 2017
registered against the applicants for the offences punishable under
sections 141, 147, 149, 294, 324 and 341 of the Penal Code and
3108apl100.17-Judgment 3/7
sections 3(1)(r)(s), 3(2)(v)(a) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and section 135 of Maharashtra
Police Act.
3. The non-applicant No.3-Ranjit Ragade is the complainant,
who had lodged the report alleging therein that he belongs to the
Mehatar caste and his brother Vijay Ragade had contested the election
from ward/prabhag No.18. It is alleged in the complaint lodged by the
non-applicant No.3 that his brother had won the election and one Afjal
Shannu who resides in the locality where the applicants reside was
defeated. It is alleged in the report that when the complainant, his
brother and all other persons from their group went to Goutam Nagar
area in a winner-rally and reached behind the masjid, the applicants
and some others against whom the first information report was
registered took bricks and stones in their hands and started pelting
them on the members in the rally of the winning candidate. It is
alleged that the applicants and the other persons against whom the first
information report was registered were uttering "sale mehatar, sale
mahere, tumhare ma ko chodu". It is alleged in the first information
report that certain members from the rally sustained injuries on their
head in view of the pelting of the bricks and stones by the applicants
and the others. On the basis of the report lodged by the non-applicant
3108apl100.17-Judgment 4/7
No.3-Ranjit, the first information report was registered against the
applicants for the offences punishable under sections 141, 147, 149,
294, 324 and 341 of the Penal Code and sections 3(1)(r)(s) and 3(2)(v)
(a) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act. The applicants have sought for the quashing and setting aside the
first information report.
4. Shri Giripunje, the learned counsel for the applicants,
submitted that the first information report could not have been
registered against all the applicants under the provisions of sections
3(1)(r)(s) and 3(2)(v)(a) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act. It is stated that it is alleged by the non-
applicant No.3/complainant that the applicants and several others were
in a mob and they were pelting stones and bricks on the members in the
winner's rally and they were also abusing the members of the winner's
rally on the basis of their caste by saying "sale mehatar, sale mahere,
tumhare ma ko chodu". It is submitted that it is not alleged in the report
lodged by the non-applicant No.3 as to which of the applicants had
uttered those words. It is stated that the words are not such that they
could be by hearted by every applicant and the other persons against
whom the first information report was registered. It is submitted that
since all the applicants could not have uttered the same words that are
3108apl100.17-Judgment 5/7
stated in the report lodged by the non-applicant No.3-Ranjit, the first
information report registered against the applicants for the offences
punishable under sections 3(1)(r)(s) and 3(2)(v)(a) of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act should be
quashed and set aside.
5. Shri Ambarish Joshi, the learned Additional Public
Prosecutor appearing for the non-applicant Nos.1 and 2, submitted that
on the basis of the report lodged by the non-applicant No.3-Ranjit, the
first information report was registered against the applicants for the
offences punishable under sections 3(1)(r)(s) and 3(2)(v)(a) of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
It is however fairly admitted that it is not mentioned in the first
information report as to which of the applicants and the other persons
against whom the first information report is registered had actually
uttered those words. It is stated that the first information report was
registered solely on the basis of the report lodged by the non-applicant
No.3 as the members in the winner's-rally belong to Ghasiya Mehatar
community which is a scheduled caste.
6. On a reading of the first information report, it is apparent
that an offence under the provisions of sections 3(1)(r)(s) and 3(2)(v)
3108apl100.17-Judgment 6/7
(a) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)
Act cannot be prima facie made out against the applicants even if we
accept the first information report at its face value. A general allegation
is made in the first information report lodged by the non-applicant No.3
that the applicants and the other persons against whom the first
information report was registered were shouting "sale mehatar, sale
mahere, tumhare ma ko chodu". It is not possible that all the applicants
and the other persons against whom the first information report was
registered would shout the same words that are mentioned in the report
lodged by the non-applicant No.3. The non-applicant No.3/
complainant does not state as to which of the applicants and the
persons against whom the first information report was registered were
abusing in the name of his caste. In the absence of any allegation
attributing the utterances to any particular applicants or any particular
person or persons against whom the first information report was
registered, prima facie it cannot be said that the offences punishable
under sections 3(1)(r)(s) and 3(2)(v)(a) of Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act could be made out
against the applicants. Though we find that the first information report
registered against the applicants for the offences punishable under
sections 3(1)(r)(s) and 3(2)(v)(a) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is liable to be set aside, it cannot be
3108apl100.17-Judgment 7/7
said that on the basis of the allegations made in the first information
report, prima facie the offences punishable under sections 141, 147,
149, 294, 324 and 341 of the Penal Code and section 135 of the
Maharashtra Police Act cannot be made out against the applicants.
7. Hence, for the reasons aforesaid, the criminal application
is partly allowed. The first information report registered against the
applicants in so for as the offences punishable under sections 3(1)(r)(s)
and 3(2)(v)(a) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention
of Atrocities) Act is hereby quashed and set aside. Order accordingly.
JUDGE JUDGE
KHUNTE
