In relation to a case filed at the Azad Maidan Police Station for violating prohibitory orders, a magistrate court in Mumbai has cleared BJP leaders Pravin Darekar and Atul Shah as well as Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narvekar and Cabinet Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha.
These political figures were charged with agitating against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) administration in 2021. The state government’s handling of communal violence in Malegaon, a tiny powerloom town close to Nashik, was the target of the protest. The protest caused the barricades at a metro rail project, where construction has been ongoing, to be taken down.
Sections 269 (spread of illnesses and not the cause of infection) and 447 (criminal trespass) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the pertinent provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act for disobeying prohibitory orders were also cited in the case that the Azad Maidan Police Station had registered.
Although there were CCTV cameras present at the location where the demonstration took place, no CCTV footage had been provided before the court, said the defence attorney Akhilesh Chaubey, who was arguing against the allegations. Aside from police witnesses, the attorney claimed that no other independent witnesses had been presented to the court to support the prosecution’s case. Additionally, he claimed that the government had not publicised the prohibition order in the gazette.
After hearing both parties, Girgaon Metropolitan Magistrate NA Patel issued the acquittal order. Later, the complete order will be made available.
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