Jurisdiction Of Special Courts Established Under SC/ST Act Is Confined To Offences Under It: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court observed that the jurisdiction of the special courts established under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 [SC/ST Act] is limited to offences under it.
The Court held thus in a bail application where the offence for which the person was tried by the special court was exclusively under IPC.
The bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot observed, “The provisions of grant of bail for accused under the SC/ST Act are distinct from provisions of bail under the Cr.P.C. However, the SC/ST Act is a criminal enactment. The legislation has to be construed strictly, and cannot be applied to offences which do not fall within the ambit of the SC/ST Act. The Special Courts draw their jurisdiction to try offences from Section 2(bd) of the Act. Section 2(bd) of the Act clearly confines the jurisdiction of the Courts to the offences under the SC/ST Act.”
In the present case, the applicant’s bail was denied by the trial Court after he was charged under Section 302 IPC. He was not charged for any offence under the SC/ST Act but the case was tried by the exclusive special court established under the SC/ST Act.
Advocate Rajeev Kumar appeared for the applicant and G.A. Mrityunjay Singh appeared for the informant.
The High Court noted that the legislative intent to establish Exclusive Courts was to ensure that trials for offences under the SC/ST Act are expeditiously concluded and the special procedures under the said Act are duly adhered to. As per the Court, the protective provisions of SC/ST Act were created to safeguard the interests of a defined section of the citizenry.
According to the Court, since the applicant was not charge sheeted under the SC/ST Act, the provisions of the SC/ST Act regarding the bail would not be applied to the case of the applicant.
The Court observed, “Criminal cases in which the accused are not chargesheeted under the SC/ST Act are liable to be processed under the provisions of Cr.P.C., even if the offence is being tried by the special court established under the SC/ST Act.”
Accordingly, the Court allowed the bail application.
Cause Title: Pramod v. The State of U.P. (Neutral Citation: 2024:AHC:37764)
Appearance:
Appellant: Adv. Prashant Yadav, Adv. Rajeev Kumar
Respondent: G.A. Mrityunjay Singh