Akankshya Mahapatra 
The Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a landmark judgment in an ST / ST case. The court says it is not an insult to anyone belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) to make any offensive remarks in the absence of any witnesses inside the four walls of the house. In addition, the Supreme Court has dismissed allegations against a person under the SC-ST Act. The man-made the insulting remarks to a woman.
The court said that insulting or threatening a person is not a crime under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act. The Supreme Court said that under the SC and ST laws, crime would be considered when members of the weaker sections of society were abused, humiliated and harassed in public.
Not every offending remark against a member belongs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe will amount to an offence under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes unless there is an intention to humiliate, for the reason that the victim belongs to to such caste, the court ruled.
The bench of Justices L Nageshwar Rao, Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Ajay Rastogi said the appellants could not be prosecuted under Section 3 (1) (R) of the Scheduled Tribes Act, 1989 in view of the facts. The allegations are being dismissed. The bench said other criminal cases against Hitesh Barma would be heard by a competent court.
Written By Akankshya Mahapatra
