AKILAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal filed under Section 14A(2) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act').

(2.) The appellants are accused 1 to 5 in the case registered as Crime No.188/2019 of the Kollengode police station under Sections 143, 147, 148, 324 and 308 read with 149 I.P.C and also under Sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s) and 3(2)(va) of the Act.

(3.) The case against the appellants was registered on the basis of the first information statement given to the police by the de facto complainant, who is the third respondent in this appeal. The material averments in the first information statement given to the police by the de facto complainant are as follows: The de facto complainant is a person who belongs to Scheduled Caste. Accused 1, 3 and 4 are not persons who belong to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. On 21.04.2019, at about 19.00 hours, the de facto complainant was standing in front of a temple at the Ambedkar Colony at the place Govindapuram and talking with his friends. Then, accused 1 to 5 together reached there. The first accused abused the de facto complainant by calling him by his caste name. The second accused cut on the head of the de facto complainant with a chopper. The de facto complainant fell down. When the second accused again tried to cut the de facto complainant with the chopper, the friends of the de facto complainant intervened. Then, accused 1 to 5 beat them with sticks.