Jharkhand High Court has quashed the FIR and criminal proceedings against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pratul Shahdev in a case under the SC/ST act.
The court in its order observed that “…it appears that the case has been maliciously filed”. The Court further stated that the SC/ST Act is meant for the protection of Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes and it is not meant for setting the score by way of filing a false case”, it added
The case against Shahdev was registered in Latehar district under sections 341, 342, 323, 325, and 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 3/4 of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989).
BJP leader Pratul Shahdev in his petition to quash the FIR has stated that the Latehar police has vindictively filed the case against him under the SC /ST act as he has been very vocal against the police and administration over various matters.
On the complaint of one Mantu Ram, Latehar police had registered the case. In his complaint, he had alleged that while working as a driver for even small mistakes Pratul Shahdev used to abuse him with cast indicative words.