HC rejects plea to book Madras Univ professor under SC/ST Act

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court dismissed a petition moved by a Dalit professor of Madras University alleging that a woman professor-cum-HOD has been discriminating him on the grounds of caste and prayed to book the woman professor under the SC/ ST Act.

Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the orders after hearing the government advocate stating that the petitioner has filed the criminal revision petition as a counterblast against the proposed accused (woman HOD) merely for reason that the she filed a complaint with her higher authorities against the petitioner for misbehaving with the girl students.

The petitioner named R Radhakrishnan prayed for setting aside the order of the Special Judge for SC - ST Cases/Judicial Principal Sessions Judge, Chennai. The trial court dismissed his plea for a direction to police to book a woman professor /HOD under SC / Act.

The court further stated that this conduct of the proposed accused alone will not attract the case under the SC/ST Act.

Recording the submissions the judge held that the proposed accused only submitted the complaint and it cannot be an act of physical harm or mental agony on the petitioner by allegations of practising witchcraft.

"....the allegations mentioned in the complaint do not prima facie constitute criminal offences under Section 3 (1) (u) or 3 (1) (zb) of the Act and accordingly, I am unable to persuade myself to refer the complaint for investigation by the respondent police. Therefore, even though I agree in part with the learned counsel for the petitioner that the procedure adopted by Trial Court is incorrect, still this revision will not succeed and I find nothing in this complaint to refer the same to investigation to the respondent police. Accordingly, this revision is dismissed," the judge ordered.