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Ashish Sharma alias Sonu and Ors. vs. State of NCT of Delhi & Anr.

Criminal Miscellaneous Case · 2026:DHC:8183Decided 21 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
CRL.M.C. 7029/2026CNR: DLHC010448832026
Justice Mini Pushkarna

Background

The petitioners and the complainant (respondent no. 2), both in the property-dealing business in the same area, had a dispute over a property. During a heated argument in 2024, the petitioners allegedly used casteist slurs against the complainant, leading to an FIR under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The complainant's own counsel later clarified he was not present when the alleged remarks were made and only heard about it secondhand, and the parties eventually settled through family and community members.

Decision Breakdown

Citing a Supreme Court ruling (Ramavatar v. State of Madhya Pradesh) that SC/ST Act cases can be quashed where the underlying dispute is essentially private/civil and the offence wasn't committed because of the victim's caste, the Court found this was fundamentally a property dispute with only "subtle undertones of criminality." Since both sides confirmed the settlement was voluntary and the complainant no longer wished to pursue the case, the FIR was quashed, but the Court additionally directed the petitioners to pay Rs. 15,000 as costs to the Delhi High Court Bar Association Fund, given the sensitive nature of the original allegations.

Lesson Learnt

Even FIRs under special protective statutes like the SC/ST Act can be quashed on settlement if the court finds the dispute was genuinely private/civil in origin, though courts may still impose costs as a check against casual invocation of such quashing power in caste-related matters.

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