ABHISHEK AWASTHI Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In an application under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the "Cr.P.C.") being Application U/S 482 Cr.P.C. No.43713 of 2022 (Sushil Kumar Singh v. State of U.P. and Anr.), a learned Single Judge, while deciding the case on 22/3/2023, had held that an application under Sec. 482 Cr.P.C. filed for the quashing of the entire proceedings of a particular Sessions Trial which included the offences under the provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as the "SC/ST Act") would not be maintainable in view of the provisions of Sec. 14-A of the SC/ST Act. In that case, the learned Single Judge, after referring to the judgments of Ramawatar v. State of Madhya Pradesh reported in (2022) 13 SCC 635, Hitesh Verma v. State of Uttarakhand and Anr. reported in AIR 2020 SC 5584, Arnit Das v. State of Bihar reported in 2000 (5) SCC 488, In Re: Provisions of Sec. 14-A of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 (CRIMINAL WRIT - PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION No.8 of 2018) decided on 10/10/2018 and on Ghulam Rasool Khan and Ors. v. State of U.P. and Ors. reported in AIR Online 2022 All 68 (FB), concluded that when an enactment for redressal of grievances creates a statutory remedy, the exercise of inherent powering by way of entertaining a petition under Sec. 482 Cr.P.C. could not be done.

(2.) However, another learned Single Judge in another case, Application U/S 482 Cr.P.C. No.11043 of 2023 (Devendra Yadav and Ors. v. State of U.P. and Anr.), while deciding the case on 10/4/2023, had held, again relying upon the judgments of Ramawatar (supra) and specifically relying upon paragraph nos.9 and 16 of that judgment, that even if the statutory appeal under Sec. 14-A of the SC/ST Act was available, the application under Sec. 482 Cr.P.C. could be entertained keeping in view the judgments of the Supreme Court in Ramawatar (supra) and B.Venkateswaran and Ors. v. P. Bakthavatchalm reported in AIR 2023 SC 262.

(3.) Confronted by these two judgments, a learned Judge of our Court, on 20/9/2023, referred the matter to a Larger Bench after framing the following questions :