HC decries use of SC/ST Act on unreasonable grounds

As per the prosecution, Elumalai had illegally electrified his land. When Valli and her husband were passing through the land, her husband suffered electrocution and died.

On Valli’s complaint, the Tiruvannamalai police registered a case for the offences under Section 304(2) IPC, Section 135(1)(a) of the Electricity Act, 2003 and Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and arrested Elumalai. The Sessions Court (Special Court for the Cases under the SC/ST Act), Tiruvannamalai, on October 9 dismissed his bail plea. Challenging it, the present plea was moved seeking to quash the proceedings under SC/ST Act and grant bail.

When the plea came for hearing, Justice PN Prakash held that a perusal of the FIR revealed that the incident had taken place while Valli and her husband were walking into the lands of Elumalai. It was not the case of the prosecution that the appellant had a previous motive against the deceased.

“That apart, it is strange as to how the provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act can be invoked in a case of this nature inasmuch as electric current does not know caste difference and it can electrocute a Dalit and a non-Dalit with equal force,” Justice Prakash added while granting conditional bail to Elumalai.