The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a man who had been booked for protesting poor road conditions in the Chandrapur district.
Justice MW Chandwani, in an order passed on October 29, said that peaceful civic protests could not be criminalised based on “vague charges bereft of the essential ingredients to constitute offences under the penal laws”.
The judge observed: “The lines between the constitutional right to protest and the unleashing of penal prosecutions cannot be allowed to be blurred. If this mindset gains traction, it would be a sad day for democracy.”
The case
The High Court was hearing an application filed by a man named Nishkarsh Nimgade, who had taken part in a protest in January against the poor state of roads in the Nandgaon village. The protest took place after an accident on the road, in which several persons were injured.
The demonstrators had sought action against the public works department, and some of them had tried to block traffic on the road by tying a rope across it. The police had filed a case against several persons, including Nimgade, pertaining to unlawful assembly and wrongful restraint.
Rival arguments
Nimgade’s counsel Purushottam Patil argued before the court that protesting for better conditions of roads could not be said to be an offence, and that the people who took part in the demonstration could not be said to constitute an unlawful assembly.
On the other hand, the public prosecutor contended that protesters were trying to restrain commuters from passing through the road. He contended that a prima facie case of unlawful assembly and wrongful restraint was made out.
Judge’s observations
Justice Chandwani, however, noted that the prosecution had not recorded the statements of any commuters to show that the road had been blocked. He also noted that Nimgade’s name only came up when the police removed people from the road.
“Merely because large number of persons gathered to agitate against the condition of the road and insisting for action against the erring officials of PWD department and the contractor, it cannot be presumed that the people gathered on the spot formed an unlawful assembly,” the judge said in his order.
Justice Chandwani allowed the application, and set aside the first information report and chargesheet filed against the man.
