SANJUversusSTATE OF U.P. AND 5 OTHERS

         HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
                    CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 970 of 2025

Sanju
                                                             .....Appellant(s)
                                   Versus

State Of U.P. And 5 Others
                                                           .....Respondent(s)

Counsel for Appellant(s)        : Fazal Kareem Zafari
Counsel for Respondent(s)       : Diksha Singh, G.A., Lavkush Kumar
                                  Bhatt, Santosh Kumar Pandey

Court No. - 51
                   HON'BLE MADAN PAL SINGH, J.



1. Heard Sri Fazal Kareem Zafari, learned counsel for the appellant and
Sri Santosh Kumar Pandey, learned counsel for opposite party no. 2, and
the learned AGA for the State are present.

2. By means of the present criminal appeal under Section 14A(1) of the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,
1989, the appellant seeks to set aside the order dated 19-10-2024 passed
by the learned Additional Sessions Judge/ Special Judge, SC/ST Act,
Farrukhabad in Criminal Misc. Case No. 544 of 2024, whereby the
application filed by the appellant under Section 173(4) of the BNSS has
been rejected.

3. From perusal of the judgment, it appears that in the application
submitted by the appellant there is no averment that the appellant belongs
to a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe, nor is there any statement that the
opposite parties do not belong to a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe; the
Court, being a Special Court constituted under the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, has jurisdiction
only over offences specified under the said Act, and an offence under the
Act is made out only when it is specifically stated that the
applicant/complainant belongs to a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe and
that the accused does not belong to such category; in the absence of such
specific averments, the Court held that it lacks jurisdiction to entertain the
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                                    application under Section 173(4) BNSS, and in view of these facts, found
                                    no basis for directing investigation under Section 173(4) CrPC and
                                    accordingly dismissed the petition.

                                    4. Relying upon the Three Judges Bench judgment of the Hon'ble
                                    Supreme Court in the Case of Aleque Padamsee v. Union of India (AIR
                                    2007 SC 684), the Full Bench of this Court in Father Thomas v. State of
                                    Uttar Pradesh, 2011(1) ADJ 333 (FB) has held that even an application
                                    under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. (now Section 173(4) BNSS) has been
                                    rejected, the remedy available to the appellant is to file a complaint case
                                    before the court concerned under Section 190 (1) (a) read with Section
                                    200 of Cr.P.C. (now Section 210(1)(a) read with Section 223 of BNSS.)

                                    5. In view of the above settled position of law, the proper remedy
                                    available to the appellant is to file complaint case under Section 210(1)(a)
                                    read with Section 223 of BNSS.

                                    6. Keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case and the
                                    allegations made by the complainant, the order passed by the trial court is
                                    found to be correct in the eyes of law. No interference is warranted in the
                                    present case.

                                    7. Accordingly, the Criminal appeal is dismissed.



                                                                                         (Madan Pal Singh,J.)
                                    May 5, 2026
                                    pks




Digitally signed by :-
PANKAJ KUMAR SRIVASTAVA
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad