Legal Analysis: Gunjan @ Girija Kumari and Others vs. State (NCT of Delhi) and Another

Citation: 2026 INSC 468
Court: Supreme Court of India
Bench: Justice N.V. Anjaria (Division Bench – the judgment is authored by a single judge but is a bench of at least two judges; the other judge’s name is not mentioned in the extract)
Date of Decision: 2026 (exact date not specified in the extract)
Nature of Judgment: Criminal Appeal under Article 136 of the Constitution of India against High Court order dismissing revision petition and upholding framing of charges.

Synopsis of the Judgment

The appellants, including the wives (who belonged to upper castes) and their husbands (who belonged to Scheduled Caste), were charged under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act) and under Section 506 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). The complainant was the brother of the husbands, also a member of the Scheduled Caste. The dispute arose out of a property dispute among family members. The complainant alleged that the appellants hurled caste‑based abuses and threatened him. The trial court framed charges, and the High Court upheld the charges, rejecting the revision petition. The Supreme Court quashed the FIR and the charges, holding that the essential ingredient of the offence under the SC/ST Act – that the insult or abuse must take place “in any place within public view” – was not satisfied because the incident occurred inside a residential house. The Court also held that the offence of criminal intimidation under Section 506 IPC was not made out as the element of “alarm” was absent, and there was no evidence of common intention under Section 34 IPC.

1. Basic Information of the Judgment

• Case Title: Gunjan @ Girija Kumari and Others vs. State (NCT of Delhi) and Another

• Criminal Appeal No.: 2446 of 2026 (arising out of SLP(Crl.) No. 9198 of 2025)

• Bench: Justice N.V. Anjaria (Division Bench)

• Date of Decision: 2026 (specific date not mentioned in the extract)

• Citation: 2026 INSC 468

• Appeal From: Judgment and order dated 22.08.2024 of the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi in Criminal Revision Petition No. 114 of 2023 and Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 3181 of 2023

2. Legal Framework

Laws and Provisions Involved

• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989: Sections 3(1)(r) (intentional insult or intimidation to humiliate a SC/ST member in any place within public view), 3(1)(s) (abusing a SC/ST member by caste name in any place within public view)

• Indian Penal Code, 1860: Sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 503 (criminal intimidation – definition), 506 (punishment for criminal intimid

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