The Kolhapur bench of the Bombay High Court discharged a couple who faced charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, following a decision that the Act’s provisions do not apply after conversion to Islam. This ruling was issued during a recent hearing before Justice Vrushali V Joshi.

The case emerged from a complaint by a woman who was allegedly from the Hindu Mahar community and had converted to Islam in 2011 upon marrying her husband, who is a practising Muslim. The woman later reported incidents of family-related tensions due to property issues, leading her to lodge an FIR against her husband’s relatives.

Details of the Allegations and Legal Proceedings

The complainant stated that tensions escalated when she asked her husband’s relatives to maintain cleanliness in the household. It was during one of these disputes that she accused them of physical assault, claiming they used derogatory terms related to her Scheduled Caste background. The specifics of the case reveal a familial conflict exacerbated by domestic circumstances.

Advocate Satyavrat Joshi, who represented the accused, contended that the matter originated from civil disputes and asserted that a false FIR had been lodged against his clients. He argued that no offence was applicable under the Atrocities Act due to the familial relationship involved and the nature of the allegations.

In response, Additional Public Prosecutor SV Gavand acknowledged that the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling indicated that the woman’s conversion to Islam could potentially disqualify her from invoking protections under the Atrocities Act. However, he maintained that this did not negate the possibility of pursuing charges under the Indian Penal Code for the alleged physical assault and related accusations.

Ruling and Future Proceedings

Ultimately, the bench concluded that the evidence presented did not warrant the continuation of charges under the Atrocities Act against the accused couple. While they were discharged from these specific charges, the court noted that there was sufficient material indicating a prima facie case for the remaining offences as outlined in the FIR.

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