Rajasthan HC quashes case under SC/ST Act: ‘Neech’ is not a caste-based slur

Jodhpur, Rajasthan – The word “Neech” means low or vile and is used to describe a person’s bad moral character. It is not the name of any specific community or caste. Therefore, calling someone “Neech” does not fall under the category of caste-based abuse, the Rajasthan High Court observed while hearing a petition filed by the Director and an Associate Professor of IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Jodhpur, Dr. Deepak Arora. The Court quashed the criminal proceedings initiated against him under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Referring to the case Swarn Singh vs State, the Court stated that an offence under the SC/ST Act must occur in a public place. The alleged incident had taken place inside the Director’s closed office, where the general public had no access. Hence, it could not be considered as occurring in “public view.”

What is the case about ?

The entire incident dates back to 2 September 2025. An FIR was lodged by the Acting Registrar of IIT Jodhpur, Ankur Gupta. It was alleged that Associate Professor Dr. Deepak Arora was having a discussion in the office of the Institute’s Director, Professor Avinash Agrawal, during which an argument broke out. Dr. Arora allegedly assaulted the Director. When office assistant Vivek Gautam and others present tried to intervene, Dr. Arora allegedly fought with Vivek Gautam and abused him using words such as “neech.”

Based on this, the police registered a case under provisions of the SC/ST Act. Dr. Deepak Arora challenged this in the High Court, following which the Rajasthan High Court quashed the proceedings.