NEW DELHI: A Delhi Court has acquitted former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Rajender Pal Gautam and party leader Durgesh Pathak among 38 persons in connection with a protest against fuel price hike called by them during the 2020 pandemic time.
As per the cops, on July 1, 2020, the accused persons disobeyed the order under section 144 Cr.PC, when protests and gatherings were not allowed during the Covid spread. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Mehta was of the view that there are material contradiction in the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and there are ‘serious lacunas’ in the police investigation.
“After going through the material on record including the testimonies of prosecution witnesses and other material placed on record by the prosecution, this court is of the view that there are material contradiction in the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and there are serious lacunas in the police probe ignoring principles and legal precedents and directions by their own seniors,” the order stated.
The court also held that there are some inconsistencies in the deposition of the prosecution witnesses. The court observed that the accused persons have been charged under 188 IPC read with section 34 IPC for violations of the directions given by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kamla Market District.
As per this order, all social,political,sports,cultural,religious or other gatherings and large congregations were prohibited from July 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020 to contain the spread of Covid-19 epidemic.
It is the case of the prosecution that all the accused persons violated the directions given under this notification and had assembled to protest against the price rise of petrol and diesel, the court noted.