VINODA NAND JHA Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has preferred this petition under section 482 Cr. P. C. for quashing the entire criminal prosecution in G.R. No. 2949 of 2003 arising out of Ranchi SC & ST P.S. Case No. 29 of 2003, now pending in the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ranchi for the alleged offence under section 3(1) (x) (2)(vii) of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 read with section 504 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) The brief fact of the case as stands narated in the written report presented by the Opposite party No. 3 before the Harijan Police Station was that he at the relevant time was posted as Section Officer in the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha, Ranchi. He was the member of the Scheduled Caste and used to work under the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly but his incharge of the work was the Deputy Secretary, Vinoda Nand Jha (Petitioner). On 17-10-2003 at about 1.15 p.m. while the informant was proceeding towards the office of Shri Kumar Jai Kishore Singh, Deputy Secretary, he was mid way called out by the petitioner, Vinoda Nand Jha, and pursuant to that when he went to the petitioner, it is alleged that the petitioner abused him by calling him Harijan arid alleged that Chamar, Dusad tribal people were polluting the environment of the assembly on the issue of reservation. It was further alleged that the petitioner accosted him that females of their castes used to work in different trade as menial workers and there was no guarantee about their chastity including the females of his house and even then, the informant was raising the issue of reservation.

(3.) The occurrence was witnessed by several persons who were present in the chamber of Kumar Jai Kishore Singh, Deputy Secretary (Accounts). The informant highlighted the bias of the petitioner against him from before on account of the fact that he was Harijan and the police case as aforesaid was instituted on 17-10-2003.