Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act

The trial court convicted the accused of murder and offences under the SC/ST Act, but the Rajasthan High Court acquitted them, finding the prosecution's version of events implausible and the eye‑witness testimony unreliable. The State appealed, arguing that the High Court erred in discarding material evidence. The Supr…

The State of Maharashtra alleged that sixteen accused, including Bhaskarrao and others, murdered Shamrao by assaulting him with weapons and amputating his hand, invoking sections 147, 148, 452 r/w 149, 302 r/w 149 and 506 of the IPC. The trial court acquitted all accused after finding the prosecution’s case riddled wit…

The appellant, K.P. Manu, born to Christian parents, reconverted to Hinduism at age 24 and obtained a Hindu Pulaya caste certificate. The Scrutiny Committee and the Kerala High Court cancelled the certificate, holding that his Christian birth precluded Scheduled Caste status. The Supreme Court examined whether a person…

The petitioners, members of the Lohar community in Bihar, challenged a 2016 Bihar Government notification that authorised the issuance of Scheduled Tribe certificates to the Lohar (also referred to as Lohara) community, alleging it was illegal and violated their fundamental rights. They sought quashing of the notificat…

The appellant, the original complainant, challenged a High Court order that had quashed criminal proceedings against the accused under Sections 307, 504, 506 of the IPC and Sections 3(10)(15) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The High Court, relying on a single paragraph stating that no useful purpose would …

The case concerned an appeal by Meena Devi, the wife of a murder victim, against the Allahabad High Court’s order granting bail to the convicted accused, Shivraj Singh alias Lalla Babu, under Section 439 of the Cr.P.C. The Supreme Court examined whether the High Court had exercised its discretionary power judiciously, …

The complainant appealed against the Allahabad High Court's orders granting bail to five convicted respondents under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, while their appeals against convictions for murder and related offences were pending. The High Court had justified the bail on the ground that the acc…

The complainant Rajbir Singh lodged an FIR alleging that armed assailants fired at his father Hoti Lal, killing him and a Scheduled Caste girl, Pooja Kumari. During investigation, Akhilesh Chauhan (respondent No.2) was found to have received a rifle from one of the accused and fled the scene, leading the Special Judge …

Journalist Sukanya Shantha filed a writ petition alleging that various State prison manuals sanction caste‑based discrimination in the division of labour, segregation of barracks and the classification of "habitual offenders", thereby violating Articles 14, 15, 17, 21 and 23 of the Constitution. The Court examined whet…