The Supreme Court on Thursday indicated its unwillingness to entertain an appeal by the Chandigarh Administration challenging the quashing of a criminal case against Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and other Aam Aadmi Party leaders. The case originated from a 2020 political demonstration against rising electricity tariffs.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana made the oral observation while hearing the petition. The administration had approached the top court to challenge a Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling that dismissed both the First Information Report and the subsequent chargesheet against the political leaders.
Chief Justice Kant noted that sloganeering is a routine aspect of democratic processes. He remarked that since Mann now occupies a highly responsible position, the court anticipates he will conduct himself with appropriate responsibility.
Addressing Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who appeared on behalf of the Chandigarh Administration, the Chief Justice stated that the bench would only hear the matter if the administration intended to argue strictly on the legal merits of the case. Otherwise, he emphasized, the court was not inclined to intervene.
Raju requested additional time from the court to resolve technical discrepancies. He stated that the administration was currently addressing procedural objections across three separate petitions filed against different high court orders.
High Court Ruling on Alleged Offenses
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had previously cleared the AAP leaders, finding that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case. The high court ruled that the necessary elements to prove the alleged offenses under the Indian Penal Code were entirely absent.
As a result, the high court quashed all charges filed under the IPC. These charges had included rioting, unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from duty, and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging their duty.
Details of the 2020 Electricity Protest
The legal dispute stems from a protest march organized by AAP in Chandigarh in 2020 to oppose hikes in electricity tariffs. The initial FIR was registered following a complaint by police constable Manpreet Kaur.
According to the police complaint, prominent AAP figures—including Mann, Harpal Singh Cheema, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Baljinder Kaur, and Aman Arora—allegedly incited a crowd of 750 to 800 party workers to march toward the Punjab Chief Minister’s official residence in Sector 2, Chandigarh.
The police asserted that the demonstrators attempted to break through security barricades. They further alleged that after law enforcement officers deployed water cannons to disperse the crowd, some protesters resorted to throwing stones, which resulted in minor injuries to multiple police personnel.
