Digital Goa, June 18- High Court has upheld the discharge of 2 women, one of whom is a PI, by Sessions Court in a case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, dismissing a revision plea filed by the State. The State had challenged a 2021 Sessions Court order which had discharged the 2 accused while pointing out that Gawade is a surname. The prosecution argued in the high Court that the accused had hurled caste-based abuses at the complainant, whose correct surname was “Gawade,” and not “Gaudi” . However, Justice Valmiki Menezes ruled that the alleged insults did not occur in public view—a key requirement under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the Act. Citing a 2023 Supreme Court ruling, the judge noted the absence of independent public witnesses and found no error in the lower court’s decision. The revision plea has been dismissed. The matter is related to 2020 case wherein a woman filed a complaint alleging that her 2 sisters-in-laws one of whom is a PI, used the term “Gawade” in a casteist manner during a family dispute.
