SANAPALA UMA PATHI Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Petition, under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is filed to quash the proceedings in Special S.C.No.61 of 2020 on the file of the XI Additional District Judge-cum-Special Judge for trial of the offences under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, Visakhapatnam. Petitioner herein is sole accused in the Special Sessions Case.

(2.) A charge sheet has been filed against the petitioner for the offences punishable under Ss. 420, 323, 506-II IPC and 3 (1) (r) (s) and 3 (2) (va) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015(for short, 'the Act, 2015'). The allegations, in brief, in the charge sheet may be stated as follows:

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that even accepting the entire accusations to be true, still the offence punishable under Ss. 3 (1) (r) (s) and 3 (2) (va) of the Act, 2015 would not attract for the reason that the alleged incident is said to have taken place in a house, which would not come within the purview of 'public view', as is evident from the charge sheet. She contends that in view of the same, continuation of the impugned proceedings as against the petitioner is nothing but abuse of process of Court.