http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/No-anticipatory-bail-in-dalit-atrocity-case-HC/articleshow/11001148.cms
No anticipatory bail in dalit atrocity case: HC
TNN | Dec 6, 2011, 05.31AM IST
Ahmedabad: Any person, accused of committing atrocity against people
belonging to scheduled castes/tribes, shall not get anticipatory bail,
the Gujarat high court has ruled.
The court was deciding on crucial question whether stringent
provisions contained in special law - the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled
Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities ) Act, 1989 - have specific bar on a
person's right to anticipatory bail as per CrPC.
Pravinchandra Solanki and four others were booked for beating and
abusing a dalit in Shahpur area of the city. Fearing arrest as they
were also booked by cops under the Atrocities Act, all five moved HC
for anticipatory bail. Their counsel cited different judgments by HC
in the past, in which persons booked under the Atrocities Act were
granted protection against arrest.
Justice Anant Dave found this quite opposite to the provisions
contained in section 18 of the Act. The judge cited a judgment by full
bench of Rajasthan high court on the same issue , in which the
conclusions were contrary.
Justice Dave felt that benches of Gujarat high court that granted
anticipatory bail in cases of dalit atrocities might not have noticed
the Rajashtan HC's order, or a similar order delivered by a Madhya
Pradesh high court.
Finding earlier orders in contradiction with orders of other high
courts, Justice Dave referred the issue to a division bench for
interpretation of law - whether accused in the atrocity cases can be
given anticipatory bail by HC while exercising its powers under 438 of
CrPC, particularly when there is an embargo in section 18 of
Atrocities Act that provisions of 438 would not apply in cases of this
special act.
Abench of Justice A L Dave and Justice Bankim Mehta heard the issue at
length, where in the applicants counsel argued that flat denial of
anticipatory bail is violative of provisions of freedom granted in
Article 21 of the Constitution . In a rebuttal, advocate general Kamal
Trivedi cited a Supreme Court order in this regard and contended that
the provisions of special act are meant for denial of relief in dalit
atrocity related cases.
The division bench observed , "Once a provision of law enacted by
Legislature, is held to be not unconstitutional or violative of
Article 21 of the Constitution, it stands on statute book and has to
be read as it is... The Section has to be read and given its ordinary
meaning ." In such circumstances, an accused under the Atrocities Act
cannot even seek anticipatory bail, neither a court can grant it, the
bench concluded .
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