NANALAL HIRJIBHAI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Permission is granted to convert this Miscellaneous Criminal Application into Special Criminal Application.

(2.) Rule. A. P. P. Mr. K. G. Shah waives service thereof.

(3.) In view of the fact that the complaint lodged against the accused is for offence punishable under Section 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 (hereinafter referred to as the Atrocities Act) as rightly submitted by LAPP Mr. Shah Section 18 of the Atrocities Act has to be considered which reads as under: Section 18: Section 438 of the Code not to apply to persons committing an offence under the Act: Nothing in Section 438 of the Code shall apply in relation to any case involving the arrest of any person on an accusation of having committed an offence under this Act. The aforesaid Section 18 contains the words underlined above having committed an offence under this Act. The words underlined would clearly indicate that the complaint has to be seen and prima facie it should disclose an offence having been committed under the Atrocities Act.