The Karnataka High Court has quashed a police complaint filed under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by an aggrieved tenant against her landlords. The court has expressed concern that such misuse of the Act could undermine the legitimate complaints of those who have genuinely suffered atrocities.
The ruling came on July 12, following a petition filed by the landlords. The single-judge bench, comprising Justice M Nagaprasanna, observed that the complaint filed by the tenant, who is also a member of the Urban Consumer Commission, appeared to be a “counter blast” in response to legal action initiated by the landlords themselves.
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Justice Nagaprasanna observed that such instances of gross misuse of the SC/ST Act inundate the courts with frivolous cases, diverting attention from the actual grievances of those who have suffered atrocities.
The relevant section of the Act cited in the complaint referred specifically to abuses in public places, yet the presence of the complainant inside the house during the alleged incident was conspicuously absent, raising doubts about the veracity of the claims.
The dispute between the parties originated from a rental agreement in the Dollars Colony Area, where the petitioners leased out their premises to the tenant against a substantial security deposit of Rs 10 lakh. Subsequently, two cheques totaling Rs 3 lakh and 7 lakh were issued as part of the agreement. However, the second cheque was dishonored due to insufficient funds, leading the landlords to file a complaint under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
The situation further escalated with alleged defaults in rent and maintenance payments, culminating in an outstanding due of over Rs 15 lakh by the end of the agreement. Following these disputes, the landlords served an eviction notice to the tenant. When the landlords sought legal recourse by approaching the Civil Court, a delivery warrant was issued in March 2023 to evict the tenant, as the latter had ignored a court order issued in December 2022. The warrant was executed on March 29.
However, the tenant responded by registering a police complaint, accusing the landlords of hurling casteist abuses at her inside the house, three days before the eviction. The landlords’ counsel vehemently argued that the complaint was a clear misuse of the law, highlighting the tenant’s history of chronic rent defaults and non-compliance with court orders.
During the proceedings, the government pleader representing the tenant contended that further investigation should continue and that the veracity of the alleged casteist insults would be determined during the trial.
In response to the arguments presented, Justice Nagaprasanna stated that allowing further investigation into the complaint would constitute an abuse of the law, as it appeared to be a classic case of misusing the Atrocities Act to retaliate against a delivery warrant issued by the court.
“The narration is that on 26th March, 2023, the petitioners came to their house, in which the complainant was a tenant and hurled abuses inside the house….. If this is the allegation in the complaint, permitting any further investigation into the complaint, would, on the face of it, become an abuse of the process of law as it forms a classic case where the provisions of Atrocities Act are misused by a disgruntled tenant who do not want to pay rent after taking the premises on rent and sought to scuttle the decree by not adhering to it,” stated the court.