Court drops murder bid, sedition charges against all 53 accused

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, February 18

In a major blow to the special investigation team (SIT) of the Haryana Police investigating the case of violence in Panchkula after verdict against Sirsa dera chief on August 25 last year, the local court has dropped attempt to murder and sedition charges against all 53 accused. 

  In a recent order, the copy of which has now been made available, Additional District Judge Rajan Walia has ordered: “In the present case, this court has perused the file and found that the prosecution has alleged that the mob had attacked the police and pelted them with pebbles/stones and damaged the roadways buses. There is nothing on the file to prove the ingredients of Section 307, IPC, merely alleging that accused persons had attacked the police personnel, so mere attacking is not enough rather the prosecution is required to prove that as to how prima facie offence is made out as there is no injury to any police personnel which can be considered dangerous to life”. 

The Court further says: “Merely pelting pebbles from some distance cannot be considered that it is an attempt to murder and it is not prima facie fell under Section 307, IPC. So offence under Section 307, IPC, is not made out against the accused persons”. 

On sedition charge:

The court states: “Overt acts, such as collection of men, arms and ammunition, itself do not mean that they are waging a war as there is distinction between riot and waging of a war as the purpose and intention that constitute offence whether the object is of general public nature or not, is a material question. Now in the present case, the object was not of general public nature. More so, according to Section 196 CrPC, no court can take cognisance of any offence punishable under chapter VIth of the IPC and the present offences under Section 121 and 121A fall under Chapter VIth of the IPC, and the court can only take cognisance with the previous sanction of the Central Government or the State Government. So, the sanction has not been obtained either by the prosecution from the Central Government or the State Government to prosecute the accused persons.”

Finally, the accused were discharged from the offences punishable under Section 307, 121 and 121-A, IPC. During violence in Panchkula on August 25 last year, 36 persons were killed and more than 200 injured.

The court says since the remaining offences are triable by a magistrate, the present case is sent back to the Area Magistrate/CJM, Panchkula, for further trial.

Dera chief aids among accused

Top aides of dera chief, Panchkula dera in-charge Chamkaur Singh and media coordinator Surinder Dhiman Insan, are among the accused.

Case history

• On August 25, 36 persons were killed and more than 200 injured during violence in Panchkula
• In the FIR No. 345, registered at the Sector 5 police station, dera’s spokesperson Aditya Insan, dera chief’s adopted daughter Honeypreet Insan and 23 others were booked for sedition
• As Aditya Insan was at large, the Haryana Police announced a Rs 5-lakh reward for information about him
• In the present case (in which charges have been dropped against 53 accused), the Haryana Police did not obtain prosecution sanction from the Centre and the state government for slapping sedition charges against the accused. But in the FIR against Honeypreet and Aditya Insan, they have taken prosecution sanction from the Haryana Government.
• For Panchkula violence, the Haryana Police have arrested nearly 1,100 accused under separate FIRs registered at police stations of Panchkula.