[Cites 17, Cited by 0]
Gujarat High Court
Nitaben W/O Kishorbhai Falke vs State Of Gujarat on 1 May, 2026
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R/CR.RA/295/2020 JUDGMENT DATED: 01/05/2026
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL REVISION APPLICATION (AGAINST ORDER
PASSED BY SUBORDINATE COURT) NO. 295 of 2020
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HASMUKH D. SUTHAR
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
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NITABEN W/O KISHORBHAI FALKE & ORS.
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR.
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Appearance:
MR MANTHAN K BHATT(6549) for the Applicant(s) No.
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
MR SHASHIKANT S GADE(1706) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
MR ROHAN H. RAVAL, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HASMUKH D. SUTHAR
Date : 01/05/2026
JUDGMENT
1) By way of present revision application under Sections 397 and
401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the applicants have
sought following relief:-
"(A) Your Lordship may be pleased to quash and set aside
the impugned order dated 18/11/2019, below Exh.11 in
Atrocity Case No.54 of 2018 by Ld. (Special Atrocity Cases
Court) 15th Add. Sessions Court, Vadodara; further, please
to pass necessary order and direction of quashing and
setting aside the "Charges of section 3 (2) (5-A), 3(1)(R)
(S) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
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(Prevention of Atrocity Act), 2015" against present
petitioners, levelled in the Charge - Sheet No. I-69/2018
(Ann-B) dated 04/05/2018 (by Karelibag Police Station,
Vadodara).
2) Brief facts of the present case are that one FIR being I-
C.R.No.69/2018, came to be registered for the offences
punishable under Sections 143, 147, 148, 149, 323 and 506(2)
of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 135 of the Gujarat
Police Act read with Sections 3(1)(R) of The Scheduled Castes
and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, (which
shall hereinafter be referred to as "Atrocities Act" for short).
After completion of investigation, charge-sheet came to be filed
against 11 accused for the offences punishable under Sections
143, 147, 148, 149, 323 and 506(2) of the Indian Penal Code
read with Section 135 of the Gujarat Police Act read with
Sections 3 (2) (5-A) and 3(1)(R)(S) of the Atrocities Act. The
learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Vadodara considering the
charges of the Act committed the case to the special Atrocity
Court as envisaged under Section 209 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure (which shall hereinafter be referred to as "the Code"
for short). The learned Sessions Court, Vadodara has registered
the case and numbered as Atrocity Case No.54 of 2018.
Thereafter, the accused appeared and preferred a discharge
application at Exhibit 11 under Section 227 of the Code and
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prayed to discharge the applicant nos.2 to 9 as they belongs to
the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Community (which
shall hereinafter be referred to as "SC/ST Community" for
short) and further the offence alleged under the Act have been
committed by the accused nos.1 and 2. Thereafter, the learned
15th Additional Sessions Court, Vadodara, has been pleased to
reject the discharge application at Exhibit 11, vide order dated
18.11.2019. Being aggrieved with and dissatisfied by the same
the applicants have preferred the present revision application.
3) Heard learned Advocate Mr. Manthan K. Bhatt for the applicant
nos.1 to 9, learned APP Mr. Rohan H. Raval, for the respondent
- State and learned Advocate Mr. Shashikant S. Gade, for the
respondent no.2.
4) Perusing the record it appears that the charge-sheet is filed
against the applicants and other accused for the offences
punishable under Sections 143, 147, 148, 149, 323 and 506(2)
of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 135 of the Gujarat
Police Act read with Sections 3 (2) (5-A) and 3(1)(R)(S) of the
Atrocities Act. Further perusing the charge-sheet and
investigation papers it appears that the allegation of the
Atrocities Act are levelled against the accused no.1 - Ketan
Kishorbhai Falke and accused no.2 - Chandrakant Kishorbhai
Falke are not before this Court but the remaining accused i.e. -
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applicant nos.2 to 9 are before this Court who have submitted
that the learned trial Court has committed error in rejecting the
discharge application at Exhibit 11 more particularly on the
ground that the applicants are also belongs to SC/ST Community
and their Certificates are also produced on record. As the
accused nos.4 to 11 are belongs to SC/ST Community. Hence,
offence under Atrocities Act is not made out against the accused
to invoke the provision of Atrocities Act. As per Section 3 of the
Atrocities Act, whoever not being a member of a Scheduled
Caste or a Scheduled Tribe against them the offence under
Atrocities Act is made out. In the present case the applicants are
belongs to SC/ST Community and therefore no offence is made
out against the present applicants hence up to that extent
learned Sessions Judge has committed error in rejecting the
discharge application. The object of the discharge application is
to provide safeguard where prima facie fact appears to proceed
against the accused is a lack of the grounds then pre-trial
safeguard is required to be exercised and it is unsafe to put the
accused on trial which cause undue harassment to the accused.
Therefore, up to that extent the applicants belong to SC/ST
community is undisputed.
5) Furthermore, to invoke the provision of the Atrocities Act the
victim should be a person, who belongs to Scheduled Caste or
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Scheduled Tribe and that the offence under the IPC is committed
against such victim on the basis that such a person belongs to a
Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe. In absence of such
ingredients, no offence under Section 3(2)(v) of the Act can be
said to be committed. In this regard reference is required to be
made in the case of Asmathunnisa Vs. State of A.P reported
in AIR 2011 SC 1905 and Ashabai Machindra Adhagale Vs.
State of Maharashtra & Ors. reported in (2009) 3 SCC 789,
wherein, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has concluded that the
complainant is required to allege that the accused is not a
member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, then only on
fulfilling other ingredients of the alleged offence is made out.
Perusing the record it appears that the applicant nos.2 to 9 are
member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and in view of
Gorige Pentaiah Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh reported in
(2008) 12 SCC 531, present application deserves
consideration.
6) In view of the above, no offence is made out under the Atrocities
Act against the applicant nos.2 to 9 and they are required to be
discharged only for the offences under Sections 3 (2) (5-A) and
3(1)(R)(S) of the Atrocities Act.
7) Accordingly, the present revision application is disposed of being
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partly allowed. The order dated 18.11.2019 below Exhibit 11,
in Special Atrocity Case No.54 of 2018, passed by the 15th
Additional Sessions Judge and Special Judge (Atrocities Cases)
Vadodara, is quashed and set aside up to above extent and the
discharge application at Exhibit 11, under Section 227 of the
Code, filed by the applicants is hereby partly allowed qua
applicant nos.2 to 9 herein and the applicant nos.2 to 9 are
discharged from the offences punishable under Sections 3 (2)
(5-A) and 3(1)(R)(S) of the Atrocities Act only.
8) Further, it is clarified that the applicant nos.2 to 9 shall be put
on trial under the Sections 143, 147, 148, 149, 323 and 506(2)
of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 135 of the Gujarat
Police Act.
9) Record and proceedings, if any, be sent back to the concerned
Court forthwith.
(HASMUKH D. SUTHAR,J)
ANKIT JANSARI
