Supreme Court dismisses appeal in Olympic academy caste dispute

Bhatti) in Criminal Appeal No. 348 of 2021, concerning a dispute between trainee athletes at the Olympic Riding and Equestrian Academy (OREA) and the academy's administrator. It matters to citizens as it addresses the procedural handling of a complaint filed under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the role of the police and magistrate in investigating such allegations.

Who it concerns: The judgment concerns Priti Agarwalla and others (Appellants, including parents and trainees), the State of GNCT of Delhi (Respondent), Respondent No. 2 (Praveen Kumar @ Prashant, a trainee athlete), and Kapil Nath Modi (Administrator of OREA). It involves the SHO of P.S. Fatehpur Beri, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of South Saket Court, and the Supreme Court of India.

What the document says

• The case arises from a complaint filed by Respondent No. 2 on 29.04.2018 before the SHO, P.S. Fatehpur Beri, under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
• Respondent No. 2 alleged that the complaint was not investigated by the SHO and filed an application under Section 156(3) of the CrPC before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on 09.05.2018.
• The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate referred the complaint to the SHO, P.S. Fatehpur Beri.
• The Supreme Court notes that multiple complaints and FIRs were filed by both sides between April and September 2018, including allegations of sexual harassment, cheating, cruelty towards animals, and defamation.
• The Court describes the factual matrix involving a WhatsApp group named 'Alliance' and a letter dated 21.04.2018 alleging a conspiracy to harm the administrator and Respondent No. 2.

Also in the document

• The judgment is marked as 'NON-REPORTABLE'.
• The document lists a detailed timeline of complaints filed by Appellants against the Administrator and by the Administrator/Respondent No. 2 against Appellants between 03.04.2018 and 10.09.2018.
• Two specific cases filed by Respondent No. 2 under the SC/ST Act (C.T. 627/2018 and C.T. 536/2018) were dismissed by the Special Court in 2018.
• The Supreme Court excerpted the original complaint dated 29.04.2018, which contains specific allegations of caste-based insults and threats made by the Appellants.