[Cites 19, Cited by 0]
Gujarat High Court
Gajanan Manaji Mistry vs State Of Gujarat on 1 May, 2026
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.RA/999/2017 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. 999 of 2017
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HASMUKH D. SUTHAR
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
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GAJANAN MANAJI MISTRY & ANR.
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR.
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Appearance:
MR RAMNANDAN SINGH(1126) for the Applicant(s) No. 1,2
MR MB RANA(2760) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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:-
"(B) Your Lordships may be pleased to call for records and
proceedings Atrocity (Special) Case No.70 of 2016 and be
pleased to quash and set aside impugned order dated
21.8.2017 passed by learned Special Judge, City Sessions
Court No.18 (Atrocity) Ahmedabad in Atrocity (Special)
Case No.70 of 2016 below Exh.6, by holding the same to
be illegal and unlawful.
(C) YOUR LORDSHIPS MAY BE PLEASED TO allow the
application below Ex 6 filed in Atrocity (Special) Case
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No.70 of 2016 pending before Learned Special Judge, City
Sessions Court No.18 (Atrocity) Ahmedabad.;"
2) Brief facts of the present case are that one FIR being I-
C.R.No.132 of 2015, came to be registered for the offences
punishable under Sections 384, 323, 506(2), 294(a), 114, 415
and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3(1), (3), (5), (8),
(10) and (15) of The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, (which shall hereinafter be
referred to as "Atrocities Act" for short) with Gujarat University
Police Station, Ahmedabad. The applicants were arrested on
14.02.2016 and after completion of investigation, charge-sheet
came to be filed in which offences under Atrocities Act came to
be deleted as the investigating agency found that no case of
atrocity was made out. Thereafter, at the stage of framing of
charge before the learned Metropolitan Magistrate there was
objection raised by the complainant / prosecution that there are
elements of Sections 3(1), 3(5), 3(8), 3(10) and 3(15) of the
Atrocities Act and therefore, the matter was committed 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 City Civil Court,
Ahmedabad, registered the case and numbered as Special
Atrocity Case No.70 of 2016. Thereafter, on 29.12.2016 the
applicants preferred the discharge application at Exhibit 6 under
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Section 227 of the Code and prayed to be discharged as they
belongs to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes
Community (which shall hereinafter be referred to as "SC/ST
Community" for short). Thereafter, the learned Special Judge,
City Sessions Court No.18, (Atrocity), Ahmedabad, has been
pleased to reject the discharge application at Exhibit 6, vide
order dated 21.08.2017. Being aggrieved with and dissatisfied
by the same the applicants have preferred the present revision
application.
3) Learned Advocate Mr. Ramnandan Singh for the applicants, has
submitted that the applicants are falsely enroped in the offence
by the complainant as the applicant no.1 - husband of the
applicant no.2 belongs to SC / ST community and evidence to
that effect has already been placed with the charge-sheet.
Further, it is alleged that so far Atrocities Act is concerned no
case is made out against the applicants merely on the ground
that the accused belongs to SC / ST community and his wife
married with him due to this reason question does not arise to
intentionally insult the scheduled caste person and no case of
humiliation is made out. He has further submitted that no any
obnoxious substance or allegations are made against the
complainant by the applicants. He has further submitted that the
allegations started from the year 2007 and continued up to 2015
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approx. 8 years and hence the compliant is filed belatedly.
Hence, he has requested to allow the present revision
application.
4) Learned APP Mr. Rohan H. Raval, for the respondent - State and
learned Advocate Mr. Ramnandan Singh, for the respondent
no.2 have supported the case and the judgment of both the
Courts and submitted that the accused is claiming scheduled
caste status of Maharashtra State and he cannot receive
advantage of said certificate as alleged offence is committed in
the State of Gujarat. The son of the complainant produced the
FDR before the Gujarat University Police Station. There is
sufficient material collected during the investigation and strong
prima facie case is made out against the accused. Further,
challenging the status of SC / ST Community is assailed before
the Hon'ble High Court of Rajasthan which is pending
adjudication. Hence, the applicants are not entitled to claim
status of SC/ST community. They have further submitted that
the applicant no.1 belongs to scheduled caste and the applicant
no.2 is his wife and she is does not belongs to scheduled caste.
Hence, they have requested to dismiss the present revision
application.
5) The respondent no.2 - complainant has filed affidavit in reply
and reiterated the allegations levelled against the accused and
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objected that no benefit or privilege can be claimed by the
accused on the basis of certificate of scheduled caste where such
caste is of another State and in another State such caste is not
notified in schedule and therefore the applicants cannot claim
the benefits of scheduled caste and prayed for rejection of the
present revision application.
6) Having heard the learned Advocates for the respective parties
and going through the record it reveals that the applicants were
arrested on 14.02.2016 and after completion of investigation,
charge-sheet came to be filed in which offences under Atrocities
Act came to be deleted by the Police Sub-Inspector as he found
that no case of atrocity was made out. Thereafter, at the stage
of framing of charge before the learned Metropolitan Magistrate
objections were raised by the complainant / prosecution that
there are elements of Sections 3(i), (v), (viii), (x) and (xv) of
the Atrocities Act and therefore, the learned Metropolitan
Magistrate has committed the case to the Special Atrocity Court.
However, the learned Metropolitan Magistrate has committed
error in committing the case merely on the application for
adding sections of Atrocities Act filed by the complainant
whereas the charge-sheet was filed for the offences under IPC
by the Police Sub-Inspector, Gujarat University Police Station,
Ahmedabad City. Further, without verification or any application
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qua further investigation the said charge-sheet was filed by the
Police Sub-Inspector and the case was forwarded to the Special
Court, whereas, according to Rule 7 of the Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995, the
offence committed under the Atrocities Act shall be investigated
by a police officer not below the rank of a Deputy
Superintendent of Police.
7) Furthermore, the allegations of the Atrocities Act are levelled
against the applicants who have submitted that the learned trial
Court has committed error in rejecting the discharge application
at Exhibit 6 more particularly on the ground that the applicants
are also belonging to SC/ST Community and Certificate to that
effect is also produced on record. 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 applicant no.1 belongs to SC/
ST Community and therefore no offence is made out against the
present applicant no.1. Merely, the validity of caste certificate
and status in Gujarat has been assailed by the respondent is not
a ground to dismiss the discharge application, as Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been defined under Section
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2(1)(C) of the Atrocities Act.
8) So far the applicant no.2 is concerned she is the wife of applicant
no.1 though she does not belongs to scheduled caste but as she
married with a person belongs to scheduled caste and she is
residing with her husband hence question does not arise to
insult or intention to insult any members of SC/ST community.
Considering the intention on the part of wife as she embraced
the person as a life partner who belongs to SC/ST community
and even a bare perusal of the complaint it appears that the
allegations are levelled against the particular community and to
make reference or mention any class or SC/ST community it
does not itself the insult and cannot be termed as insult of
person to invoke the provisions of Atrocities Act in the public
view by the person who is not belonging to SC/ST community
humiliation is caused and intention of such humiliation is
required to be brought on record. Even on the plain reading no
offence is made out as discussed above. 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.
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Therefore, up to that extent the applicants belong to SC/ST
community is undisputed.
9) Furthermore, to invoke the provision of the Atrocities Act the
victim should be a person, who belongs to Scheduled Caste or
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.
10) In view of the above, no offence is made out under the Atrocities
Act against the applicants and they are required to be
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discharged only for the offences under Sections 3(i), (iii), (v),
(viii), (x) and (xv) of the Atrocities Act.
11) Accordingly, the present revision application is disposed of being
partly allowed. The order dated 21.08.2017 below Exhibit 6, in
Special Atrocity Case No.70 of 2016, passed by the Special
Judge, City Sessions Court no.18, (Atrocity), Ahmedabad, is
quashed and set aside up to above extent and the discharge
application at Exhibit 6, under Section 227 of the Code, filed by
the applicants is hereby partly allowed and the applicants are
discharged from the offences punishable under Sections 3(i),
(iii), (v), (viii), (x) and (xv) of the Atrocities Act only.
12) Further, it is clarified that the applicants shall be put on trial
under the Sections 384, 323, 294(b), 506(2), 420 and 114 of
the Indian Penal Code.
13) Record and proceedings, if any, be sent back to the concerned
Court forthwith.
(HASMUKH D. SUTHAR,J)
ANKIT JANSARI
