N T DESAI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Mr. A. J. Desai, learned A.P.P. appearing for the Respondent-State waives service of the Rule. Heard learned Advocates appearing for the respective parties. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, this matter is heard and decided today.

(2.) The facts-situation depicted in this case if true, prima facie brings on surface how unfortunate indeed even quite well-intended and much more needed ideal social welfare piece of legislation like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 can be quite conveniently and unscrupulously abused to wreck the personal vengeance of an individual against another individual and that too on the holy anvil of Court with a weapon of the abuse of judicial process and thereby not only humiliating and pressurising the innocent citizen, but incidentally and ironically enough also placing the crusading champions and protagonists of the down-trodden and crushed members of S.C. and S.T.s in most precarious, embarrassing and demoralising situation, who indeed and undoubtedly still needs much more further legal and moral support in their just and enervating struggle for existence and fight and revolution against some undesirable lingering recesses of incorrigible, inhuman, blood-thirsty orthodox members of the Society who are downright slurs on humanity .It appears that if such wild, false, frivolous, vexatious complaints as alleged by the petitioner are lightly entertained and encouraged on mere asking, then instead of bringing about an end of class prejudice and the resultant class-war and so-called Savarnas and the members of S.C. and S.T. class nearer embrace each other would rather further wedge and deepen permanent rift between the two tearing them apart pole asunder adding acid heart-burns and head-aches to peaceful social order .In fact, these days as often heard in the Court-room during the course of arguments (no reason to dismiss the same airily ..), the whisper by some innocent has started gathering momentum that the abuse of the Atrocities Act in some of the cases by some scheming, unscrupulous persons itself has started turning into the act of gross atrocity against some innocent individuals .The irresistible motivating force perhaps promoting some black-sheep in a given case being the effortless handsome ex gratia compensation awarded by the State Government to the S.C. & S.T. class without shedding a drop of sweat even .If this allegation has any semblance of substance in it, it is indeed too grave a situation for all concerned to be countenanced lightly because what indeed we do not know, it may boom-rang the very laudable object for which the Atrocity Act ultimately came to be enacted .. It is here that all responsible citizens from all communities, including the honest, sincere and wise persons belonging to S.C. and S.T. communities and the Court also to quite great extent needs to be on the constant guard against such unfortunate happenings, giving bad name and thereby serious set back and challenge to one of the most important, fundamental, laudable and much needed legislations like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1985. To this rather unescapable observations necessitated in facts and circumstances of the case, a word of caution is also needed to be added . Accordingly, it would be simply quite unwise for the Court to straightway assume that the complaint in each and every case under the Atrocity Act is false, frivolous and vexatious, and therefore, doubtful because of some such unfortunate experiences in some cases. Bearing this in mind, in the overall and ultimate interest of justice, each and every case under the Atrocity Act is required to be closely examined with much needed honesty of purpose, guts and courage of conviction, and decide the same one way or the other; as warranted by the facts of the case.

(3.) At the very outset, it needs to be clarified that so far as the ultimate merit and result of the case at hand is concerned, the observations that are just prefaced above have nothing to do with the same as they are general, first hand and prima facie unavoidable inferences, looking to many a time false cases filed against some innocents under the Atrocity Act.