Dharambir @ Illa & Ors. vs The State (Nct Of Delhi) on 24 August, 2018
300. The Court next deals with the submissions made by learned counsel
Mr. Sudarshan Rajan who has appeared on behalf of A-1, A-29, A-79, A-18, A-5,
A-52, A-66, and A-63. At the outset, he submits that the POA Act would not be
applicable to the present case as the offences were not committed on the ground
that the victims belonged to a Scheduled Caste. He has placed reliance on the
decisions in Dinesh @ Buddha v. State of Rajasthan (supra) and Masumsha
Hasanasha Musalman v. State of Maharashtra (supra) in this regard. He further
submits that as per Section 3(2)(v) POA Act as it stood prior to amendment, it was
not enough to show mere knowledge on the part of the accused of the victims‟
membership of a Scheduled Caste but in fact, the prosecution had to fulfil its
burden of showing that the offences were committed against them on the ground
that they belonged to a Scheduled Caste.