insult or intimidation is targeted at the victim because of he being a member of a particular Scheduled Caste or Tribe.

the findings at
paragraph 18 of Ramesh Chandra Vaishya v. State
of U.P. [2023 SCC OnLine SC 668];
18. That apart, assuming arguendo that
the appellant had hurled caste related abuses
at the complainant with a view to insult or
humiliate him, the same does not advance the
case of the complainant any further to bring it
within the ambit of section 3(1)(x) of the
SC/ST Act. We have noted from the first F.I.R.
as well as the charge- sheet that the same
makes no reference to the utterances of the
appellant during the course of verbal
altercation or to the caste to which the
complainant belonged, except for the
allegation/observation that caste-related
abuses were hurled. The legislative intent
seems to be clear that every insult or
intimidation for humiliation to a person would
not amount to an offence under section 3(1)(x)
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Crl.Appeal No.906 of 2023
-8-
of the SC/ST Act unless, of course, such insult
or intimidation is targeted at the victim
because of he being a member of a particular
Scheduled Caste or Tribe. If one calls another
an idiot (bewaqoof) or a fool (murkh) or a
thief (chor) in any place within public view,
this would obviously constitute an act intended
to insult or humiliate by user of abusive or
offensive language. Even if the same be
directed generally to a person, who happens to
be a Scheduled Caste or Tribe, per se, it may
not be sufficient to attract section 3(1)(x)
unless such words are laced with casteist
remarks. Since section 18 of the SC/ST Act bars
invocation of the court's jurisdiction under
section 438, Cr. P.C. and having regard to the
overriding effect of the SC/ST Act over other
laws, it is desirable that before an accused is
subjected to a trial for alleged commission of
offence under section 3(1)(x), the utterances
made by him in any place within public view are
outlined, if not in the F.I.R. (which is not
required to be an encyclopaedia of all facts
and events), but at least in the charge-sheet
(which is prepared based either on statements
of witnesses recorded in course of
investigation or otherwise) so as to enable the
court to ascertain whether the charge sheet
makes out a case of an offence under the SC/ST
Act having been committed for forming a proper
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Crl.Appeal No.906 of 2023
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opinion in the conspectus of the situation
before it, prior to taking cognisance of the
offence. Even for the limited test that has to
be applied in a case of the present nature, the
charge-sheet dated 21st January, 2016 does not
make out any case of an offence having been
committed by the appellant under section 3(1)
(x) warranting him to stand a trial.