SC dismisses Jharkhand govt’s plea against HC decision quashing criminal case against BJP leaders
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea of the Jharkhand government against the high court’s decision quashing criminal cases against state BJP leaders and MP Nishikant Dubey over protests held in Ranchi in 2023, observing that prohibitory orders are misused whenever there is a protest.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said it is not inclined to interfere with the August 14, 2024 order of the high court and dismissed the appeal.
At the outset, the counsel appearing for the Jharkhand government said despite prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC in place, the accused held a protest which turned violent and several people, including administrative officials, were injured. The high court erred in its finding and said they have the right to protest, the counsel said.
The bench observed that nowadays there is tendency to impose prohibitory orders, whenever there is protest.
"If we interfere, it will send the wrong signal. What is the requirement of issuing orders under section 144 of CrPC, if somebody wants to hold a demonstration. This happens because section 144 of CrPC is being misused," the bench said.
The counsel said the protest turned violent and stone pelting was done.
The protest was held by the Central and state BJP leaders on April 11, 2023 in Ranchi, in which over 5,000 people participated at a time when prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC were in place.
In August last year, the high court, while quashing the case registered against the BJP leaders, said the right of people to hold peaceful protests and demonstrations, etc is a fundamental right guaranteed under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution.
"Right to protest is recognised as a fundamental right under the Constitution of India. Further, this right is crucial in a democracy which rests on participation of an informed citizenry in governance and it strengthens representative democracy by enabling direct participation in public affairs where individuals and groups are able to express dissent and grievances, expose the flaws in governance and demand accountability from the State authorities as well as powerful entities," it had said.
The high court said holding peaceful demonstrations by the citizenry in order to air its grievances and to ensure that these grievances are heard in the relevant quarters is its fundamental right.
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Kerala court sentences 20-year-old man in minor girl rape case
Kollam (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court has sentenced a 20-year-old man to 21 years of imprisonment for raping a minor girl after befriending her on a social media app.
Karunagappally Fast Track Special Court judge Rajeevan Vachal sentenced the convict to 21 years under the relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, special public prosecutor (SPP) N C Premchandran said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.1 lakh on the convict, the prosecutor said.
The incident occurred in 2024 when the accused befriended her on a social media app and then offered to take her to the Azheekal beach here.
However, instead of taking her to the beach, he took her to an isolated place behind the CHC hospital at Mynagappally here and raped her, the SPP said.
Following the incident, the girl attempted suicide, but was saved and then told the doctors what had happened, the prosecutor said.
The hospital authorities informed the police, who registered a case and launched an investigation.
The prosecutor said that seven witnesses were examined and 20 documents were submitted before the court to substantiate the guilt of the accused.
