Supreme Court lays down when an insult is an offence under SC/ST Act

The Supreme Court ruled that insulting an SC or ST individual without reference to their caste is not an offence under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. This decision came while granting anticipatory bail to Shajan Skaria, who was accused of defaming CPM MLA P V Sreenijan. The Court noted the absence of caste-based intent in the insult.