Man Accused Of Caste Abuse In Farm-Bund Dispute Gets Bail; Madras HC Cites Wordy Quarrel, No Injury And No Prior Case

In brief

The question

Whether the appellant should be released on bail pending trial in light of the allegations and the circumstances presented.

The court held

The Court allowed the appeal, set aside the refusal of bail and ordered the appellant’s release on bail.

It also directed

He was required to execute a bond of ₹20,000 with two sureties for the like sum, provide surety identification, and appear before the Special Court on the first working day of every month at 10:30 a.m. until further orders. On breach of a condition, the police may apply to the Trial Court for cancellation of bail.

01Facts

The appellant, the sole accused, and the de facto complainant lived in the same locality.

The complainant alleged that, after finding the bund of her agricultural land damaged, she was told that the appellant had caused the damage while transporting paddy bags by lorry. When she asked him to restore the bund, he allegedly refused, used caste-related abusive words and attempted to assault her.

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Police registered Crime No. 65 of 2026 under Section 296(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

p. 4

The Special Court rejected the appellant’s bail application on 15 October 2026; he appealed under Section 14A(2) of the Act. He had been in judicial custody since 7 October 2026 and had no previous cases.

pp. 2–4

02Issues

i.Whether the appellant should be released on bail pending trial in light of the allegations and the circumstances presented.

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ii.Whether bail should be subject to conditions, including periodic appearance before the Special Court.

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03Law Applied

Section 14A(2) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act provides the statutory basis for an appeal against an order of the Special Court concerning bail.

p. 2

The alleged offences were under Section 296(b) of the BNS and Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act.

p. 4

The Court also referred to P.K. Shaji v. State of Kerala, AIR 2005 SC 100, in directing that the police may seek cancellation of bail for breach of the conditions imposed.

p. 6

Provisions in the judgment · 2 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 Section 3

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 Section 296

04Reasoning

The Court considered the nature of the allegations and characterised the incident as a wordy quarrel between the appellant and the complainant. It also noted that no injury was caused and that the appellant had no previous case.

pp. 5–6

On those facts, it concluded that bail was appropriate, subject to conditions intended to secure the appellant’s attendance and identity and to provide a mechanism for seeking cancellation if he breached the conditions.

p. 6