In Brief
Hitesh Verma was accused of insulting and intimidating a Scheduled Caste woman over a property dispute, with charges filed under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The Supreme Court held that while the victim's caste was undisputed, the alleged insults were not motivated by her caste status but arose from a land possession dispute. The Court found that the words were uttered inside a building without public witnesses, failing the requirement of 'public view' under the relevant statute. The Court quashed charges under the SC/ST Act while preserving charges under the Indian Penal Code, allowing the civil property dispute and remaining criminal charges to proceed together.
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