March 26, 2025: In a significant judgment, the Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that an offence under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, can only be sustained if the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the crime with the knowledge that the victim belonged to an SC/ST community. This landmark verdict was delivered by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal while partly allowing Criminal Appeal No. 210 of 2021.

The appeal was filed by Pramod @ Nanhu Tiwari, a resident of Kumhari village in the Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district, who challenged his conviction by a Special Judge under multiple offences, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The case dates back to February 7, 2018, when a six-year-old tribal girl was abducted from her home while playing in the courtyard. According to her father, Badan Singh Paw, the accused lured the child with biscuits and took her to a nearby forested hillock (Dongri), where he sexually assaulted her. The father discovered the accused in the act and immediately rescued the child.

Following the incident, an FIR was registered at Marwahi Police Station, and after investigation, charges were framed against Tiwari under Sections 366 and 376(2) of the IPC, Section 6 of the POCSO Act, and Sections 3(1)(b-i)(b-ii) and 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The Special Court convicted the appellant and sentenced him to life imprisonment under the POCSO and Atrocities Acts, along with a 10-year sentence for kidnapping under the IPC.

However, the High Court modified the sentence under the POCSO Act from life imprisonment to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment, citing that the offence took place before the 2019 amendment which mandated a minimum sentence of 20 years. In a crucial development, the conviction under Section 3(2)(v) of the Atrocities Act was set aside. The court observed that the prosecution failed to prove that Tiwari knew the victim belonged to an SC/ST community at the time of the offence, which is a mandatory requirement for conviction under the Act.

The verdict has been seen as a significant interpretation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, emphasizing the need for establishing the accused’s knowledge of the victim’s caste or tribal identity. Legal experts believe this ruling could have far-reaching implications, underscoring the importance of proving intent and awareness to secure convictions under the law.