Madras High Court
R.S.Bharathi vs The State Rep.By on 22 February, 2021
CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
DATED : 22.02.2021
CORAM:
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE N.SATHISH KUMAR
CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
and
CRL.M.P.Nos.8318 and 8320 of 2020
R.S.Bharathi ...Petitioner/Accused
Vs.
1.The State rep.by
Assistant Commissioner of Police,
Central Crime Branch,
Bank Fraud Investigation,
Vepery, Chennai-600 007. ... Respondent/Complainant
2.Kalyana Sundaram ...Respondent/De-facto complainant
PRAYER: This Criminal Original Petition is filed under Section 482 of the
Criminal Procedure Code, to quash the final report filed in Spl.C.C.No.1 of
2020 before the Special Court No.1 for trial of Criminal Cases related to
MP's and MLA of Tamil Nadu, Chennai.
For Petitioner : Mr.R.Shanmugasundaram
Senior Counsel
For R1 : Mr.A.Natarajan
Public Prosecutor
Assisted by Mr.M.Md.Muzammil
For R2 : Mr.V.Raghavachari
1/12
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CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
ORDER
This Criminal Original Petition has been filed to quash the
proceedings against the petitioner in C.C.No.1 of 2020 on the file of the
Special Court No.1 for Trial of Criminal Cases related to MP's and MLA of
Tamil Nadu, Chennai.
2. The brief facts leading to the filing of the charge sheet, are as
follows:-
Pursuant to the FIR dated 12.03.2020 registered by the Assistant
Commissioner of Police, Teynampet Police Station, the petitioner was
charged for the offence under Sections 3(1)(u) and 3(1)(v) of the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for the
sake of brevity hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). It is the allegation of
the prosecution that the petitioner belonging to Dravidian Progressive
Federation (DMK), political party and a well known leader, on 15.02.2020
had organized an event namely, Kalaignar Vaasagar Vattaram. In the said
function, the accused and the other leaders of the party had addressed the
audience of more than 100 numbers consisting of party member, media and
general public. The accused made disrespectful remarks on the members of
oppressed class stating that the appointment of Hon'ble MR.JUSTICE
A.Varadharajan, who belongs to lower caste, and other 7 or 8 appointments
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CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
of lower caste judges of High Court, were at the alms rendered by the
former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Besides, he has also made a
statement that even one single harijan was not made as High Court judge in
Mathyapradhesh, however, in Tamil Nadu 7 or 8 members of the Schedule
Caste were made as High Court Judges by the alms rendered by the
Dravidian Progressive Federation. Based on the FIR lodged by one Kalyana
Sundaram, investigation was conducted and final report has been laid by
the Deputy Superintendent of Police for the offence under Sections 3(1)(u)
and 3(1)(v) of the Act.
3. The prosecution has examined as many as 30 witnesses and
recorded their statements and final report has been taken on file in
C.C.No.1 of 2020. To quash the said proceedings, this petition has been
filed.
3. The learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner mainly
contended that there is an inordinate delay in filing the complaint and such
delay is with mala fide intention. The Defacto complainant selectively
extracts few lines from the speech of the petitioner. Further, the entire
materials collected by the prosecution would not prove the offence under
Sections 3(1)(u) and 3(1)(v) of the Act and the entire prosecution has been
made due to political animosity with an mala fide intention, since the
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CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
petitioner belongs to different political party. The petitioner has simply
thought to give credit for the appointment of Judges among the members of
the Scheduled Caste. His remarks were not intended to disrespect the
Hon'ble Retired Mr.Justice A.Varadharajan or any other Hon'ble Judges.
Hence, the speech of the petitioner should not be construed to mean that he
has insulted or humiliated other Judges of the Schedule Caste or the
members of the Scheduled Caste. Hence, it is the contention that the
petitioner being a Member of Parliament and also a leader of Dravidian
Progressive Federation, he did not commit any such offence. Hence, prayed
for quashing of the FIR.
4. In respect of his submission, he placed reliance on the judgment
of the Hon'ble Apex court in Hitesh Varma Vs. The State of Uttarakhand
and another [Criminal Appeal No.707 of 2020] .
5. The learned Public Prosecutor appearing for the first respondent
submitted that the entire speech of the petitioner not only disrespects the
Judges from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, but also insulted
the other members of the Scheduled Caste. His entire allegations when
read together, the same lead to the conclusion that the accused has
intended to mean that Scheduled Caste members have no merit to hold
higher posts. Hence, it is the contention that the prosecution has examined
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CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
30 witnesses and collected several materials to prove the charge. Hence,
as a matter of right, the charge sheet filed as against the petitioner cannot
be quashed.
6. The learned counsel appearing for the defacto complainant /
second respondent would submit that the petitioner, being a political
leader, had spoken ill not only against the Scheduled Caste but also the
Upper Caste. His entire speech is in the way of dividing the people and
creating disharmony in the society. If such speeches are taken lightly at the
realm of freedom of speech, the same will create hatred among the
members of the Scheduled Caste and the general public. Hence, it is the
contention that the entire allegations and the materials collected by the
prosecution show that this is the case, where the petitioner has to go for
trial. Hence, prayed for dismissal of this petition.
7. It is well settled law that the power of quashing of a criminal
proceedings should be exercised sparingly, with circumspection and in
rarest of rare cases. The court, is not justified in embarking upon an
enquiry as to the reliability or genuineness of the allegations made in the
FIR or the complaint on the basis of the evidence collected during
investigation.
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CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
8. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of State of Haryana and
others vs. Bhajan Lal and others [1992 Supp (1) SCC 335], has held as
follows:-
"102. In the backdrop of the interpretation of the
various relevant provisions of the Code under Chapter XIV and
of the principles of law enunciated by this Court in a series of
decisions relating to the exercising of the extraordinary power
under Article 226 or the inherent powers under Section 482 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure, the following categories of
cases are given by way of illustration wherein such power could
be exercised either to prevent abuse of the process of any
Court or otherwise to secure the ends of justice, though it may
not be possible to lay down any precise, clearly defined and
sufficiently channelised and inflexible guide- ï7 myriad kinds of
cases wherein such power should be exercised:
(1) where the allegations made in the First
Information Report or the complaint, even if they are taken at
their face value and accepted in their entirety do not prima
facie constitute any offence or make out a case against the
accused;
(2) where the allegations in the First Information
Report and other materials, if any, accompanying the F.I.R. do
not disclose a cognizable offence, justifying an investigation
by police officers under Section 156(1) of the Code except
under an order of a Magistrate within the purview of Section
155(2) of the Code;
(3) where the uncontroverted allegations made in
the FIR or 'complaint and the evidence collected in support of
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CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
the same do not disclose the commission of any offence and
make out a case against the accused;
(4) where the allegations in the FIR do not constitute
a cognizable offence but constitute only a non-cognizable
offence, no investigation is permitted by a police officer
without an order of a Magistrate as contemplated under
Section 155(2) of the Code;
(5) where the allegations made in the FIR or
complaint are so absurd and inherently improbable on the
basis of which no prudent person can ever reach a just
conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding
against the accused;
(6) where there is an express legal bar engrafted in
any of the provisions of the Code or the concerned Act (under
which a criminal proceeding is instituted) to the institu- tion
and continuance of the proceedings and/or where there is a
specific provision in the Code or the concerned Act, providing
efficacious redress for the grievance of the aggrieved party;
(7) where a criminal proceeding is manifestly
attended with mala fide and/or where the proceeding is
maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking
vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to
private and personal grudge."
9. Similarly, it is also well settled that while exercising the power
under Section 482 Cr.P.C., the Court is is not expected to express any views
on merits related to the realm of appreciation of evidence to decide the
credibility of the case put forward.
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CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
10. When the allegations put against the accused carefully
perused, the remarks made by the accused prima facie show that he has
remarked that the people, except in Tamil Nadu, are idiots. He has also
stated that till now, no one from the Schedule Caste become Judge of the
High Court of Madhyapradesh. Only the leader Karunanithi, made
Mr.Varadharajan, who belongs to Schedule Caste as Judge of High Court of
Madras. Similarly, 7 or 8 Judges from the Scheduled Caste were also
appointed at the alms rendered by the Dravidian Progressive Federation.
The statements prima facie indicate the allegations targeted against
Scheduled Caste. This Court restrains itself from expressing any views as
to whether such utterance attracts the offence or not.
11. The allegations prima facie show that such statement leads
inference as if except the alms rendered by the Dravidian Progressive
Federation, the members from Scheduled Caste would not have been
become a Judge of the High Court. It is nothing but an humiliation and
insult to the oppressed community. The entire statements made by the
person are not in good taste. Intellectual debates have been forgotten by
the so called leaders. On the other hand, under the guise of freedom
guaranteed under the Constitution, the persons claiming to be public
leaders spitting venum against opponents. It has become routine affairs.
Such debate is not good for the society or the younger generation. The
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CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
leaders are required to engage with an intellectual debate and not on
personal grudge.
12. Be that as it may, the prosecution has also examined as many
as 30 witnesses and collected several documents also. With the available
materials, whether the offence is made out or not, could be seen only after
the appreciation of entire evidence and it is the domain of the trial Court to
test the credibility of the case put forward by the prosecution. It is
submitted by the learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner that
the offence under Sections 3(1)(u) and 3(1)(v) of the Act have not been
attracted. It is to be noted that the Investigating Officer has collected
several materials. The fact that whether the offence is attracted or not has
to be decided at the stage of trial and not at this stage. It is the wisdom of
the trial Court to apply its mind to frame charges for the relevant sections
on the basis of the available materials in the form of final report and other
documents relied by the prosecution, even though some of the offence
under other has not been included in the charge sheet. Therefore, this
Court at this stage, is not making any enquiry so as to find out whether the
materials collected will fit into the ingredients of the sections charged
against the accused.
13. As far as the judgment relied upon by the learned Senior
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CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
Counsel appearing for the petitioner in the case of Hitesh Verma vs. The
State of Uttarakhand and another [Criminal Appeal No.707 of 2020], is
concerned, in paragraph Nos.10 and 18, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has
held as follows:
"...10. The Act was enacted to improve the social economic
conditions of the vulnerable sections of the society as they have been
subjected to various offences such as indignities, humiliations and
harassment. They have been deprived of life and property as well.
The object of the Act is thus to punish the violators who inflict
indignities, humiliations and harassment and commit the offence as
defined under Section 3 of the Act. The Act is thus intended to punish
the acts of the upper caste against the vulnerable section of the
society for the reason that they belong to a particular community.
.....18. Therefore, offence under the Act is not established
merely on the fact that the informant is a member of Scheduled Caste
unless there is an intention to humiliate a member of Scheduled
Caste or Scheduled Tribe for the reason that the victim belongs to
such caste. In the present case, the parties are litigating over
possession of the land. The allegation of hurling of abuses is against a
person who claims title over the property. If such person happens to
be a Scheduled Caste, the offence under Section 3(1)(r) of the Act is
not made out."
14. The facts in the present case is totally different from the above
cases. Herein, remarks have been made in public view and not only against
the persons holding high posts but also some other retired Judges stating
that they have become judges only at the alms rendered by the Dravidian
Progressive Federation, which prima facie insult and humiliate such people.
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CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
Therefore, this Court is of the view that it is not a fit case to exercise the
power under Section 482 Cr.P.C., to quash the proceedings. Accordingly,
this Criminal Original Petition is dismissed. The trial Court shall strictly
follow the provisions under Section 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
and the guidelines given by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Vinod Kumar
vs. State of Punjab [2015 (1) MLJ (crl) 288] and complete the trial on day-
to-day basis expeditiously without any further delay. Consequently,
connected miscellaneous petitions are closed.
22.02.2021
Index : Yes/No
Internet : Yes/No
ta
To
The Assistant Commissioner of Police,
Central Crime Branch,
Bank Fraud Investigation,
Vepery, Chennai-600 007.
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
N.SATHISH KUMAR, J.
ta
CRL.O.P.No.20070 of 2020
22.02.2021
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
