In a recent legal development, a court acquitted Congress legislator Jignesh Mevani and six others in a case dating back to 2016. The charges against them included unlawful assembly, rioting, and causing damage to public property. The court of additional metropolitan magistrate PN Goswami delivered the verdict, absolving Jignesh Mevani, along with Manabhai Pateliya, Ramesh Bariya, Mukesh Patel, Dashrath Pagi, Meesh Narsinh, and Darshan Pathadiya, from the accusations. The case stemmed from their alleged involvement in damaging a police vehicle, shouting slogans, and rioting during their detainment en route to a stadium for organising a protest at the Income Tax crossroads in Ahmedabad in September 2016.
Charges and FIR
The First Information Report (FIR) filed against the individuals at Navrangpura police station included charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, such as unlawful assembly, rioting, obscene acts in a public place, voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from duty, and wrongful restraint. Additionally, provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act were invoked.
The accused were allegedly involved in damaging police vehicles and assaulting a police driver while being transported from the Income Tax crossroads to a police stadium for organizing a protest without prior permission. The protest aimed to support the cause of sanitation workers affiliated with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
Jignesh Mevani's political standing
Jignesh Mevani, who won the December 2022 assembly election from the Vadgam seat as a Congress candidate, holds the position of working president in the party's state unit. The acquittal comes as a significant legal outcome for Mevani and his associates, concluding a legal chapter that had persisted since 2016.
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