YUVRAJ SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Vide this petition, the petitioner seeks to invoke the jurisdiction of this court under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, to quash FIR no.0115, dtd. 14/2/2021, registered at Police Station Hansi, District Hansi, wherein it is alleged that offences punishable under Ss. 153-A and 153-B of the IPC, as also Sec. 3 (l)(u) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities), Act, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), have been committed. [Subsequently, as submitted before this court, an offence punishable under Sec. 3(l)(s) of the Act has also been added in the FIR.]

(2.) When the petition first came up for hearing, the contentions initially raised by counsel for the parties on the date, (with notice of motion issued and with an interim order thereafter passed by this court at that stage), are also considered appropriate to be reproduced at this initial stage itself, in this judgement. Thus, the relevant part of the order dtd. 25/2/2021, is reproduced as regards the arguments raised on that date by learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner, and learned counsel for the complainant (respondent no.2):-

(3.) Upon hearing the aforesaid arguments on that date, the following observations were made by this court, in that very order:- Having considered the matter at this stage with investigation still underway, this court would not exercise jurisdiction to stop investigation, but in view of the fact that at least prima facie at this stage, the term in question being subject to two interpretations, i.e. as to whether it was used against any particular community (or in the context of any community) or was in reference to a person who was in an inebriated condition, with the person concerned (Yuzvendra Chahal) admittedly not belonging to any scheduled caste even as per learned counsel for the complainant, no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner, subject of course to the reply to be filed by the respondents herein. It is of course to be observed by this court that the Act of 1989 is a legislation enacted to safeguard the interests of a sec. of society that has been known to be oppressed since ages. Naturally any violation of the provisions of the said Act have to be dealt with strictly to try and ensure that a sense of well being is instilled in such Sec. of society, towards which every person, and 'celebrities' in particular, should be careful in the usage of any term which can be misinterpreted; yet, as already said hereinabove, since the specific contention of the learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner is that the term sued (sic) by the petitioner was wholly in the context of persons in an inebriated condition, the interim direction hereinabove has been made, subject to the outcome of the investigation and the reply to be filed accordingly by a gazetted officer in that regard.