Delhi court discharges 10 TMC leaders for protesting outside EC office

A Delhi court on Thursday discharged 10 Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, in a case related to a protest held outside the Election Commission’s office earlier this year.

The protest on April 8, 2024, was staged just weeks ahead of the General Elections. Subsequently, an FIR was registered under Sections 188, 145 and 34 of the IPC and for allegedly assembling unlawfully in violation of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC.

According to the prosecution, the leaders defied police warnings and continued their protest with placards outside the EC office. However, defence counsel argued it was a peaceful demonstration and that police failed to follow proper procedure before filing the case. After hearing both sides, the court discharged all accused, effectively closing the matter, unless appealed.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Neha Mittal at Rouse Avenue Courts ordered the discharge, stating that all 10 accused were cleared of the charges. The detailed reasoning behind the order will be available in the final judgment.

Other discharged leaders include MPs Mohd Nadimul Haque, Dola Sen, and Santanu Sen, and Saket Gokhale, Sagarika Ghosh, Vivek Gupta, Arpita Ghosh, Abir Ranjan Biswas and Sudip Raha.