Chandigarh court exempts Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann from physical appearance

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Chandigarh, March 23

Dr Aman Inder Singh, Chief Judicial Magistrate, has granted exemption from appearance to Bhagwant Mann, Chief Minister of Punjab, and a few other AAP leaders in a case registered against them two years ago in Chandigarh.

2-year-old case registered over AAP protest

The case was registered against 10 AAP leaders, including Bhagwant Mann, Harpal Singh Cheema and Aman Arora, for allegedly pelting the police with stones during a demonstration held on January 10, 2020, opposite the MLA hostel.

The police had registered the case against the offences committed under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty). 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offences committed in the prosecution of a common object).

The police alleged that the AAP workers instigated by the leaders pelted the police with stones when they were stopped near the MLA hostel. The leaders were going towards the official residence of the Punjab Chief Minister when they were stopped due to the imposition of section 144.

After the presentation of the challan, the court issued summons to the AAP leaders in December. Bhagwant Mann, Master Baldev Singh and other leaders were already granted anticipatory bail by the court.

As the hearing of the case began, the counsel for Mann moved the applications for his exemption which was allowed by the court for today. The court adjourned the case for August 6 for the presence of the accused. During the arguments on the anticipatory bail application earlier, the counsel for Mann alleged that the FIR was an outcome of a political stunt of the party in power just to attach a stigma to his reputation. He argued that the police had registered the FIR in a haste without properly verifying the facts and the allegations levelled against him were purely a work of fiction. He had not used any type of criminal force upon any public servant to deter him from performing his lawful duty. No injury has been caused to any public servant.