Migrants are victims, not criminals: Guj HC

The court granted bail to 33 migrant workers hailing from Jharkhand and West Bengal

Migrants workerImage Courtesy:livelaw.in

Gujarat High Court, on June 23, granted bail to 33 migrant workers who were booked under charges of unlawful assembly, rioting, and obstructing cops from performing their duty, causing damage to public property as well as for violation of lockdown rules under the Disaster Management Act. All the applicants had come to Ahmedabad for labour work and were working at the construction site of New IIM building at Vastrapur, Ahmedabad. During the lockdown they were without work, money and even food which led to the incident of stone pelting on May 18 and they have been in jail ever since.

The single judge bench of Justice Paresh Upadhyay observed, “In the lockdown, when the applicants were without any work, without any money and even without any food and under such circumstances, instead of arranging of their going back home, they are sent to jail. The Applicants are more the victims, certainly not the criminals.”

The court granted them bail under section 439 of the CrPC [special powers of High Court] on execution of personal bond of Rs. 500 and stated, “They need not be continued in custody any further. They need to be set free immediately, on furnishing their personal bond, without any further condition.”

The order can be read here.

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