Abuses made on an online platform against a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe would attract offenses SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities)Act - Kerala HC

Case: Sooraj V Sukumar v State of Kerala & Anr

The Kerala High Court recently held that abuses made on an online platform against a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe would attract offenses under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. 

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas held the above while declining anticipatory bail to a YouTuber who had made disparaging remarks against a person belonging to the Scheduled Tribe in a video uploaded and shared on other social media.

FACTS

The anticipatory bail application was moved by the Managing Director of an online news channel called "True TV". The Petitioner was outraged by the arrest of a friend and fellow media person on a female sexual assault complaint. He then interviewed her husband and father-in-law, uploaded it on YouTube, and shared it on other social media platforms, which allegedly showed him insulting and hatred against the victim, who belongs to an ST Community.

A crime was later registered against the petitioner alleging the commission of several bailable offenses under the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act, as well as the non-bailable offenses.

ARGUMENT

Advocate Babu S Nair, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the offenses under the SC/ST Act are not attracted, to attract the offenses, the insult or abuse must take place in the presence of the victim. In this case, the victim was not physically present during the interview, hence, the offenses are not attracted entitling the petitioner to anticipatory bail.

HELD

The Court noted that the following three ingredients are required to be satisfied to make out an offense of the SC/ST Act:

• The accused must not belong to the SC or ST community;

• The insult or abuse must be made with an intention to humiliate; and

• It must have been committed within public view.

The Court opined that the first two ingredients are satisfied since he repeatedly used insulting words. In addition, the court concurred with the prosecutor that a purposeful interpretation is necessary for the digital era, as the concept of viewership has evolved, and that ongoing statute should be applied.

The Court said that since the video is still available on social media and can be viewed by anyone, the Court opined that it implies the presence of the public and the victim.