RAMKUMAR Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is filed under Section 482 of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the ' Cr.P.C .', for brevity) for quashing the FIR and complaint registered by Koppal Town Police Station in Crime No.129/2017 for an offence punishable under Section 3(2)(va) of The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act , 1989 (hereinafter referred to as the 'SC and ST Act ', for brevity) and Section 504 of The Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the ' IPC ', for brevity)

(2.) Brief facts of the case are that the petitioner is working as Chief Manager in the State Bank of India, Koppal Branch and respondent No.2 is also working in the said Bank as Manager. Respondent No.2 has filed a complaint against the petitioner alleging that respondent No.2 is working in the State Bank of India, Koppal branch from 29.07.2015 and he has served in the said Bank for about 31 years. Respondent No.2, due to his ill-health, in the month of October 2016 forwarded application to the Regional Office requesting for voluntary retirement. The said application was returned back since there was no recommendation from the Chief Manager. It is further alleged that the petitioner knowing that respondent No.2 belongs to SC, was always abusing respondent No.2 for one or the other reason touching his caste and the petitioner used to assign other work which respondent No.2 was not supposed to do and the petitioner used to call respondent No.2 to his chamber and abuse him. However, respondent No.2 tolerated all the acts of the petitioner and completed all other works which were assigned to him. It is further alleged that since respondent No.2 was severely suffering from ill-health, in the month of March 2017, the petitioner recommended for his voluntary retirement. The higher Authorities approved the voluntary retirement of respondent No.2 on 27.04.2017. The petitioner with an intention to harass respondent No.2 and to deprive him from getting voluntary retired sought for files pertaining to his tenure and harassed respondent No.2 that he will not let him to get retired unless he handed over all the files. However, even after several requests made by respondent No.2, the petitioner knowing that respondent No.2 belongs to SC harassed him to avail his voluntary retirement benefits. On the basis of the said complaint, a case in Crime No.129/2017 was registered for the offence under Section 3(2)(va) of the SC and ST Act and Section 504 of IPC.

(3.) Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and the learned High Court Government Pleader for respondent No.1-State and the learned counsel for respondent No.2.