The Supreme Court has sought the response of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders on Chandigarh administration’s plea against the quashing of a 2020 riots case by the High Court. A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued notices to Mr. Mann and AAP leaders Harpal Singh Cheema, Gurmeet Singh, Meet Hayer, Baljinder Kaur, Aman Arora, and others.
The case pertains to a 2020 protest against the hike in electricity tariffs in Chandigarh, where it was alleged that AAP leaders, including Mr. Mann, incited around 750-800 party workers to march towards the residence of then Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. The police alleged that the protesters tried to breach barricades and resorted to stone-pelting after the use of water cannon, resulting in simple injuries to several police personnel.
Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju argued that it was a case of unlawful assembly and force was deployed, resulting in the commission of a cognisable offence, but the High Court quashed it in a ‘totally perverse order.’ The High Court had earlier held that no prima facie case was made out against the AAP leaders and the ingredients of the offences invoked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) were absent.
The FIR was registered in 2020 on the complaint of constable Manpreet Kaur, under sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from duty), and 353 (assault or criminal force) of the IPC. The Supreme Court had orally observed that there was no allegation that the accused, including Mr. Mann, had ‘exhorted’ a crowd during the protest.
The court’s decision to seek a response from the AAP leaders comes ahead of the 2027 Punjab polls, which has sparked questions over the timing and intent of the AAP’s recent welfare initiatives.
