RAMBAI SARTHI Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners herein have filed this writ petition seeking direction to the respondents/State for registration of FIR against respondents No. 7 to 21 under the relevant provisions of Indian Penal Code,1860 and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and also directing a CBI inquiry to be conducted by a high level investigating agency stating inter alia that petitioner No. 1's son as well as petitioner No. 2, both belonging to Scheduled Castes, have married upper caste girls merely on account of which petitioner No. 1 and her younger son were subjected to caste abuse and atrocities and were forced to leave their village and threatened with murder and petitioner No. 2 was victimized. The upper caste persons organized a Gram Sabha meeting in which the Gram Sabha passed a resolution that petitioners should not be allowed to live in the village and despite several complaints, the respondent authorities have not taken any action till date and have willfully neglected their duties under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

(2.) Return has been filed stating inter alia that the matter has been inquired into and the report has been submitted to the Superintendent of Police vide Annexure R/2 in which it has been found that petitioner No. 1 has encroached upon Government land by constructing her house and the son of petitioner No. 1 as well as petitioner No. 2 have married upper caste girls in a manner unknown to law by which there is serious threat to the peace and tranquility of the village and the Gram Sabha was organized to advise the petitioners, as such, no cognizable offence is made out against any of the respondents, therefore, no offence has been registered against them by the Police authorities.

(3.) Rejoinder has been filed by the petitioners stating that cognizable offence is made out against the respondents and FIR ought to have been registered against them in light of the decision rendered by the Supreme Court in the matter of Lalita Kumari v. Government of U.P. , 2014 2 SCC 1