In a significant judgment reinforcing the right to peaceful protest, the Supreme Court on Thursday quashed a criminal case registered against Telugu film actor and educationist Manchu Mohan Babu and his son Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu in connection with a dharna held during the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in Andhra Pradesh in 2019.
A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and K.V. Viswanathan allowed the appeal filed by the duo, setting aside an Andhra Pradesh High Court order that had declined to quash the FIR and chargesheet.
The case pertained to a protest held on March 22, 2019, when the MCC was in force for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state. According to the FIR, the appellants, along with staff and students from Sri Vidyaniketan Educational Institutions, held a rally on the Tirupati–Madanapalli road demanding reimbursement of student fees, allegedly causing obstruction to traffic and inconvenience to the public.
However, the top court found no merit in the allegations. “The FIR and the chargesheet do not disclose any material to suggest that there was any undue influence on the elections or any act committed with the intention to interfere with the free exercise of electoral rights,” the bench observed.
Emphasizing constitutional freedoms, the court held that the appellants were “exercising their right to freedom of speech and expression and to assemble peacefully.” It ruled that “no purpose will be served by continuing with the prosecution,” as none of the alleged offences under criminal law were made out.
The bench noted that neither obstruction of road nor any act causing common injury, annoyance, or public danger was substantiated in the charge sheet. It also clarified that the protest, though conducted without prior permission during the MCC period, did not amount to a criminal act absent any evidence of actual disruption or malicious intent.
Manchu Mohan Babu, chairman of Sri Vidyaniketan Educational Institutions, and his son, actor Manchu Vishnu, had initially approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court to quash the FIR. Their plea was dismissed in January this year, prompting the appeal to the Supreme Court.
