SNE NETWORK.NEW DELHI.
The Supreme Court said that the crime under the SC-ST Act will be applicable only when there is an intention to insult the entire community. It does not apply to individual comments. While granting anticipatory bail to YouTuber Shajan Scaria, who runs the Marunadan Malayalee channel, a bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra gave this order.
The court heard a petition filed by Scaria challenging the order of the Kerala High Court refusing to grant anticipatory bail. In which bail was not granted in the criminal case registered against Scaria by MLA PV Sriniji. MLA Sriniji had lodged an FIR against Scaria under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. It was alleged that he had deliberately insulted the MLA by making false allegations through a video uploaded on ‘Marunadan Malayalee’.
The apex court said that the mere fact that the person insulted or threatened belongs to the Scheduled Caste or the Scheduled Tribe would not amount to an offence under Section 3(1)(r) of the 1989 Act unless the intention of the accused was to insult the person concerned on caste-based grounds.