MANIKANDAN Vs. DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Appeal has been filed to set aside the order passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases under SC/ST (POA) Act, Dindigul in Crl.M.P.No.281 of 2023 dtd. 21/2/2023 and enlarge the appellant on bail in Crime No.156 of 2022.

(2.) The case of the prosecution is that on 31/3/2022 at about 10.25 p.m., when the defacto complainant was proceeding in his two wheeler bearing Registration No.TN-57-D-4119 near Reliance Petrol Bunk, the accused 1 to 4 came in the vehicles, blocked the defacto complainant's way and abused him by using his caste name, that the accused 2 to 4 asked the first accused to dash the vehicle and the first accused dashed against the vehicle and as a result of which, the defacto complainant got blood injury on his left leg and that when the villagers had intervened, the accused 1 to 4, after criminally intimidating the defacto complainant, had escaped from the spot and on the basis of the complaint given by the defacto complainant, FIR came to be registered in Crime No.156 of 2022 for the offences under Ss. 294(b), 341, 323 and 506(2) IPC and Ss. 3(l)(r), 3(l)(s), 3(l)(m) and 3 (2)(va) of the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015.

(3.) It is evident from the records that the accused including the appellant have filed a criminal original petition under Sec. 482 Cr.P.C. in Crl.O.P.(MD)No.6404 of 2022 seeking direction to the Principal District Court, Thanjavur, to consider the petitioners' bail application and dispose of the same on the same day and that this Court, vide order dtd. 6/4/2022, has directed the petitioners to surrender before the jurisdictional Court within a period of fifteen days from the date of receipt of a copy of that order and directed the Principal District Court to consider their application preferably on the same day of their surrender and pass appropriate orders in accordance with law, after affording due opportunity to the victim under Sec. 15(a) of the SC/ST (POA) Act. In pursuance of the same, the accused have surrendered before the jurisdictional Court and obtained bail.