Telangana HC holds caste-based insult between ex-spouses not an offence under SC/ST Act unless in public view

The Telangana High Court has quashed criminal proceedings under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, ruling that caste-based insults between a husband and wife cannot attract penal provisions unless made in a public place or witnessed by at least one independent person.

Justice E.V. Venugopal held that the incident occurred within a private residence and formed part of a domestic dispute. 

Relying on Hitesh Verma v. Uttarakhand and Sudhakar v. State, the Court found that the statutory requirement of occurring “within public view” was not satisfied, making continued proceedings an abuse of process. The case was therefore quashed.