In Brief
A journalist and news channel editor was accused of insulting and humiliating a Scheduled Caste politician through a YouTube video containing allegations about corruption and misconduct. The complainant invoked the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the police registered an FIR. The High Court upheld the rejection of anticipatory bail. The Supreme Court allowed the journalist's appeal, holding that not all insults directed at SC/ST members constitute offences under the Act—only those made on account of caste identity. Mere knowledge of caste status is insufficient; the insult must be intrinsically linked to caste-based humiliation. The Court directed pre-arrest bail, establishing that Section 18 of the Act does not bar bail when no prima facie offence under the Act is made out."
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