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Criminal case against AAP leaders: HC directs UT court to adjourn proceedings beyond May 19
The FIR was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and for violating prohibitory orders, when AAP leaders were on their way to Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh in protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri incident
The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed a Chandigarh trial court to adjourn proceedings beyond May 19 in a criminal case registered against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders from Punjab, among others, by Chandigarh police on October 6, 2021.
The FIR was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and for violating prohibitory orders, when AAP leaders were on their way to Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh in protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
The incident took place on October 3, 2021, in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri’s Tikunia, where a vehicle, allegedly being driven by union home minister of state Ajay Mishra Teni’s son Ashish Mishra, mowed down four farmers and a local journalist.
AAP leaders had organised a march towards Raj Bhawan demanding the arrest of Ashish Mishra.
The police had set up barricades at MLA Hostel Complex in Sector 4 to stop protesting AAP leaders, and when they tried to breach it police used water to stop them from jumping the barricades.
Those who had approached the court are cabinet minister Aman Arora, Punjab deputy speaker Jai Krishan Rouri, and MLAs Kulwant Pandori and Manjit Singh Bilaspur.
Earlier on April 28, the high court had passed similar order on the plea from Delhi AAP leader Jarnail Singh and on April 22 on the plea from Baljinder Kaur, an AAP MLA from Punjab.
They have argued that the offence under Section 188 IPC (disobedience of order promulgated by a public servant) could not be made subject matter of FIR, as no court can take cognizance except on a complaint made by a public servant in writing or by another public servant to whom he/she is administratively subordinate.
The high court bench of justice Raj Mohan Singh, while ordering that all the matters be clubbed together, posted the matter for May 19 and ordered that the trial court shall adjourn the proceedings beyond the date fixed by this court.
