Mumbai: Sessions Court Rejects Discharge Plea Of 22-Year-Old Student In CAA, NRC Protest Case

Mumbai: The sessions court has rejected the discharge plea of a 22-year-old student booked after a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) enactment held on January 21, 2020, at Deonar, turned violent. The court said the accused was a member of the unlawful assembly and arrested from the spot.

Sharon Lalzare, a resident of Shivaji Nagar, was booked as the police claimed that he was part of a mob of 75-100 people. Lalzare through his lawyer Chandni Chawla sought discharge claiming that there was no evidence against him of his active participation in the protest. Chawla also denied that he was at the spot where the protest was held.

The public prosecutor Ajit Chavan, however, contended that the protesting mob was in fact unlawfully assembled. There was no permission to protest. When the police tried to request them to disperse, the mob turned violent and pelted stones at the police and their vehicles. The situation was brought under control after an extra police force was called in. The prosecutor argued that eyewitnesses had identified Lalzare's presence at the spot.

After hearing both sides, the Additional Sessions Judge, Dr SD Tawshikar observed, “There is a specific case by the prosecution that the applicant was a member of an unlawful assembly. He was arrested from the spot. There are eye witnesses to support the allegations. This is not a case of mistaken identity of the accused/applicant. Hence, I hold that there is sufficient material to frame a charge against the accused/applicant.”