In Brief
The appellants challenged a supplementary police charge-sheet that added charges under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, claiming it was filed at the direction of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes rather than based on genuine investigation. The High Court declined to quash it, holding charges cannot be quashed piecemeal. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that while no external agency can dictate investigation, a charge-sheet can be quashed partially when abuse is limited to certain charges. The supplementary report was quashed, but the decision preserves police and judicial powers to pursue investigation under CrPC if warranted.
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