In a significant decision, the Bombay High Court has upheld an FIR against two individuals accused of slapping a Dalit Member of Parliament from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and making derogatory remarks during a party meeting in Mumbai.
The Bench, comprising Justice Sarang Kotwal and Justice Neela Gokhale, ruled that the allegations under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, were substantiated by sufficient evidence, including witness testimonies and CCTV footage.
The altercation unfolded on July 17 during a Maharashtra BSP meeting in Dadar, where party leadership changes were being announced. Tensions escalated when one of the accused, reportedly upset over being denied a ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, confronted and slapped the MP in a queue. Both accused allegedly compounded the incident with slurs targeting specific Scheduled Castes.
The FIR, filed by a senior BSP official, detailed that the incident was witnessed by multiple attendees, adding that the accused had expressed anger over perceived political sidelining. The accused contested the charges, calling the FIR politically motivated, and pointed to an earlier report from Dadar police that did not reference the MP.
Despite these claims, the Court found overwhelming evidence supporting the FIR, particularly the CCTV footage that corroborated the sequence of events. The Bench highlighted the gravity of the derogatory remarks and public assault, emphasizing that such actions were humiliating and deliberate.
“The utterances were not only derogatory but highly humiliating in nature,” the Court noted, underscoring the petitioners’ intent and dismissing arguments of political vendetta.
The High Court’s decision reinforces the accountability mechanisms under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, marking a crucial precedent in handling politically charged incidents of this nature.
