Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has quashed the Atrocity case against Karnpura temple priest Sanket Danve and eight others, observing that the essential ingredients under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were not satisfied. However, the court clarified that proceedings under IPC sections will continue.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by a woman on January 8, 2024, nearly three months after the alleged incident on October 16, 2023, during the Karnpura Devi fair. The complainant, who was selling puja items outside the temple, accused the Danve family of using casteist slurs and vandalising her shop over a past dispute. Based on the case registered, police had charged the accused under Atrocities Act provisions and IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 427 (mischief), and 34 (common intention). A chargesheet was filed and a special case was pending before the sessions court. Petitioners moved the High Court through Advocate Shrimant Munde to quash the case. The bench noted that the delay in filing the complaint, reliance solely on relatives as eyewitnesses, and lack of independent corroboration failed to meet the legal threshold for action under the Atrocities Act. Citing Supreme Court directions in the Hitesh Verma vs. State of Uttarakhand case, the court allowed the plea.