Filing chargesheet in each case lodged under SC-ST Act not mandatory: Allahabad HC

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court on Friday said it is not mandatory to file a chargesheet in each case lodged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after an FIR is registered in the matter.

“The intention of the legislature is that the investigating officer would file the chargesheet, if, during the probe, he finds adequate evidence against the accused,” the Lucknow bench of the court said.

A bench of Justices Rajan Rai and SK Pachauri passed the order on a petition filed by Gyanendra Maurya. Dismissing the petition, the bench said the legislative intent has to be understood logically.

The petitioner had challenged certain provisions of the Act, saying those should be struck down as those mandate that once an FIR is registered, the investigating officer is bound to submit a chargesheet.