The Gujarat high court granted pre-arrest bail to a person accused of such an atrocity

AHMEDABAD: After the Supreme Court's order to investigators to go slow on accused persons in cases of atrocities on people from oppressed classes if the complaint appears mala fide, the Gujarat high court granted pre-arrest bail to a person accused of such an atrocity on a member of a scheduled caste.

Sureshsinh Chauhan from Sabarkantha district faces charges of rioting, assault and criminal intimidation and under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. An FIR was lodged against him at Jadar police station.

While arguing for anticipatory bail for Chauhan, his advocate Rajesh Shah submitted that the allegations were frivolous and cited the recent order passed by the apex court which said, "There is no absolute bar against grant of anticipatory bail in cases under the Atrocities Act if no prima facie case is made out or where on judicial scrutiny the complaint is found to be prima facie malafide." The SC has called for a preliminary inquiry in such complaints before arrest if the complaint does not inspire confidence.