Ranchi/New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the High Court’s decision to quash an FIR lodged against 28 BJP leaders, including BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, former Jharkhand Chief Ministers Babulal Marandi and Raghubar Das, former Union Minister Arjun Munda, and BJP MP Sanjay Seth, in the Jharkhand Secretariat siege case.
The apex court dismissed the Jharkhand government’s Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the High Court’s ruling.
During the hearing, a Bench comprising Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan criticised the frequent use of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to curb protests.
The court remarked: “It has become a common trend to invoke Section 144 whenever a protest takes place. This sends a wrong message. If someone wants to protest, what is the need to impose Section 144? This constitutes a misuse of the provision.”
The case arises from an FIR registered on April 11, 2023, following the BJP’s call for a secretariat siege to protest against the alleged failures of the Hemant Soren-led government.
Anticipating the protest, the police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 in the Jharkhand Secretariat area and deployed water cannons, tear gas, even as the cops resorted to lathi charge to disperse the demonstrators.
The protest turned violent at Ranchi’s Dhurva Chowk, which turned into a battlefield for over two hours, leaving more than 60 people injured.
The FIR, filed on the statement of Upendra Kumar, Executive Magistrate of the Ranchi District Administration, accused the BJP leaders and unnamed activists of rioting, inciting violence, obstructing government work, violating government instructions, and causing harm to others.
The FIR stated that the accused incited the crowd, removed barricades, pelted stones, and threw bottles at the police, leading to injuries to police personnel, including SDO Deepak Kumar Dubey, Dhurva SHO Vimal Nandan Sinha, and Constables, as well as journalists covering the event.
Among the 41 individuals named in the FIR were prominent BJP leaders such as MPs Arjun Munda, Sanjay Seth, Nishikant Dubey, Samir Oraon, Sunil Kumar Singh, former Chief Minister Raghubar Das, and MLAs Babulal Marandi and Viranchi Narayan Singh.
Following the filing of the FIR, 28 of the accused approached the High Court to seek its cancellation. On August 14, 2024, the High Court quashed the FIR, a decision subsequently challenged by the Jharkhand government in the Supreme Court.
(IANS)
