High Court Must Independently Apply Its Mind to SC/ST Act Charges in Appeal under Section 14A: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of India has sharply criticized the Madhya Pradesh High Court for mechanically affirming criminal proceedings under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act) without proper scrutiny. The Court observed that the High Court went ahead with the case even though the essential ingredients of the alleged offence, namely intentional caste-based insult or intimidation, were not established in the record. High Court's…