Earlier this month, on November 5, the Madras High Court quashed the First Information Report (FIR) filed against two Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register Citizenship (NRC) protesters for conducting demonstrations in January 2020. (Saathik Ali v State Crl.O.P [MD] No. 12438 of 2020 and Henry Tiphagne v State Crl.O.P [MD] No. 12448 of 2020)
Justice J. Nisha Banu delivered two separate orders with similar findings, “The First Information Report impugned in this petition stands quashed. The Criminal Original Petition stands allowed. The benefit of this order will ensure not only for the petitioner but also the non-petitioning accused.”
Matter before the court
The petitioners had prayed before the court to call for the entire records pertaining to the impugned First Information Report in Crime Number. 4 of 2020, and to quash the same against them.
The respondent State argued that their conduct caused public nuisance and interfered with the “free flow of general traffic”.
The Single Bench observed that even though the registration of FIR seems to be justified at that moment, continued prosecution is not warranted. She said,
“…no untoward incident had taken place. The country had witnessed protests all over by different sections of people against the said amendments. Since the protest was peaceful and even the First Information Report does not disclose any act of violence or happening of untoward incident, I am of the view that the continued prosecution is not warranted. Quashing the same will secure the ends of justice.”
Accordingly, their criminal original petitions were allowed.
The orders may be read here:
Related:
25 anti-CAA protesters face externment!
Bail to 21 accused of violence in anti-CAA protests in Mangaluru: SC