A three-judge Bench of the the Supreme Court used its ‘extraordinary powers’ under Article 142 of the Constitution to set aside the conviction of a man under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in a 1994 case which had since been settled between the two parties. However, the SC also said that there would be no relief to the accused if even a “hint of compulsion” was found.
It also added that Scheduled Castes and Tribes “belong to the weaker sections of our country, they are more prone to acts of coercion and therefore ought to be accorded a higher level of protection".
Prembai, a Scheduled Caste woman of the Prajapati community in Madhya Pradesh, gotint a dispute with neighbour Ramawatar in 1994 in Panna district, Madhya Pradesh.
Ramawatar got convicted to six months rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹ 1,000. His High Court appeal was dismissed in August 2010. He has since moved the Supreme Court and said that the complainant had filed a compromise petition and wanted to settle matters since they live in the same village.
The conviction was set aside to maintain peaceful relations, and because both parties are of similar economic levels, and Ramawatar is not a repeat offender.
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