Dismissed

Vasant Tatoba Honwar v. State of Maharashtra and Ors.

Bombay HC21 Aug 2023APEAL/446/2023

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

In this criminal appeal challenging an anticipatory bail order, the High Court upheld the Additional Sessions Judge's decision to release the accused. Applying the principle from Vasant Shinde, the court held that no prima facie case under the Prevention of Atrocities Act was made out as caste humiliation was not the intention behind the incident.

What did the court decide?

The appeal was dismissed; the impugned bail order dated 03/03/2023 was upheld.

Vasant Tatoba Honwar Vs State of Maharashtra and Ors. — Bail and Remand | Bombay HC (2023)

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1/3 33 APEAL-446-23.odt

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

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CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.446 OF 2023

Vasant Tatoba Honwar

.. Appellant

Versus

The State of Maharashtra & Ors.

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.. Respondents

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Mr.Laxman Kalel for the Appellant. Mr.S.H.Yadav, A.P.P. for the State/Respondent.

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Mr.Ganesh Yogesh Desai for the Respondent Nos.2 to 4.

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CORAM: BHARATI DANGRE, J. DATED : 21^st AUGUST, 2023

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P.C:-

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The present Appeal is fled by the Complainant, who has lodged the complaint, which resulted into registration of C.R.No.40 of 2023 in Vita Police Station, District Sangli, invoking Section 506 read with Section 34 of IPC and Sections 3(1)(s) and 3(2)(va) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for short, “The Act of 1989” )

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The Appeal challenges the order passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Sangli, releasing the Applicants on bail in anticipation of their arrest, by recording that the allegations in the F.I.R. are general in nature and there is nothing to depict that the Accused were aware of the caste of the Informant.

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M.M.Salgaonkar

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2/3 33 APEAL-446-23.odt

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The learned counsel for the Appellant, who assails the order dated 03/03/2023 as being perverse, would submit that there is an intentional abuse in the name of caste, within public view and the two independent witnesses named in the F.I.R., being Satish Mane and Sayaji Honwar, who arrived at the spot and who attempted to resolve the quibble amongst them, are the witnesses of the abuse.

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When the interim order is perused alongwith the subject F.I.R., the incident can be discerned to the effect, that the Informant had set ablaze the trash near his house and at that time, Accused No.1-Bhimrao arrived and threw water on the junk collected and he threatened the complainant, that he should not clear the land. The Complainant responded by stating that it is his precinct and he shall continue to clear the same.

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It is then alleged that Accused No.1-Bhimrao abused him by saying:-

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“ ;s tk gksyX;k rqyk c?kqu ?ksrks rqyk xkokrp Bsor ukgh ”

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Pursuant to the threats, a brawl ensued between the two and Accused Nos.2 and 3 arrived and they inquired as to what had happened. In the meanwhile, even the two independent witnesses Satish Mane and Sayaji Honwal arrived on the spot.

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I have perused the statements of the two witnesses, who corroborate the Informant about the alleged abuse. By the impugned order, apart from Accused No.1, even Accused Nos.2 and 3 are directed to be released on bail, in the event of their arrest.

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M.M.Salgaonkar

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3/3 33 APEAL-446-23.odt

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As far as Accused Nos.2 and 3 are concerned, prima facie reading of the F.I.R., does not disclose that they hurled any casteist abuses to the Informant.

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As far as Accused No.1-Bhimrao is concerned, it is seen that there is no intention to humiliate the Informant by abusing him in the name of caste, though the threats are there by using a word “Holgya” and the learned counsel for the Appellant would submit that the caste of the Informant is “Holya”, which is recognized as Scheduled Caste and this is an abusive version of the caste. When the whole narration in the complaint is seen, the threat given is on account of burning the waste material and the specifc reason for the quibble revealed in the F.I.R. does not disclose an intention to humiliate the Informant in the name of his caste.

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The learned Judge has rightly applied the principle of law laid down in Vasant Shinde Vs. State of Maharashtra¹ , where by reading the F.I.R. as it is, when prima facie case is not made out, then the bar created under Section 18 of the Act of 1989 would not attracted, had rightly applied the principle in the wake of the authoritative pronouncement of the Apex Court.

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In any case, considering that the custodial interrogation in the given fact is not necessary, the learned Judge has released the three Accused on bail in anticipation of their arrest.

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Since, I do not fnd any legal infrmity nonetheless any perversity in the order dated 03/03/2023, by upholding the same, the Appeal is dismissed.

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( SMT. BHARATI DANGRE, J.)

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1 2021 BHCCO 653 (SC)

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M.M.Salgaonkar

Vasant Tatoba Honwar v. State of Maharashtra and Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Vasant Tatoba Honwar v. State of Maharashtra and Ors.

Case brief

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What did the court decide?

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