E-Paper
Chandigarh: HC stays arrest of AAP councillor accused of promoting enmity
AAP councillor Jasbir Singh Laddi is accused of burning the flag of the BJP on June 4 evening after the results of the Lok Sabha polls were declared and of lighting up dangerous explosives and crackers, which are banned in Chandigarh
The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has restrained Chandigarh Police from arresting AAP councillor Jasbir Singh Laddi in a criminal case registered against him on June 6 for allegedly promoting enmity.
Singh, a councillor from Ward Number 21 in Chandigarh, was booked by Sector-31 police. During the hearing, his counsel, Ferry Sofat, argued that the petitioner had been falsely involved in this case due to political reasons.
In fact, no offence under Sections 153-A and 505 (2) (statements that can lead to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is made out. No recovery is to be effected from him and he is ready to join the investigation, Sofat told the court.
UT’s counsel, on the other hand, argued that the petitioner being councillor in Chandigarh is a responsible person who indulged in an illegal activity and a video was prepared, which was put on the internet to spoil harmony in the city.
The court while staying his arrest asked him to join the investigation and deferred hearing for September 30. He is accused of burning the flag of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on June 4 evening after the results of the Lok Sabha polls were declared. He was also accused of lighting up dangerous explosives and crackers, which are banned in the city, as per the video which became the basis of the FIR. It was alleged that he intentionally and deliberately took the occasion to provoke riots and violence in the city, and he posted the video on social media.
