Supreme Court Rejects Jharkhand Govt's Appeal Against Quashing of FIR Involving Nishikant Dubey and Others

Synopsis

The Supreme Court has affirmed the High Court's decision to quash an FIR against 28 BJP leaders, including Nishikant Dubey, in connection with the Jharkhand Secretariat siege incident, highlighting issues concerning the misuse of Section 144 during protests.

Key Takeaways

The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision to quash the FIR.
28 BJP leaders were implicated in the Jharkhand Secretariat siege case.
Criticism was directed at the misuse of Section 144 to suppress protests.
Violence during the protest led to over 60 injuries.
Jharkhand government challenged the High Court's decision in the Supreme Court.

Ranchi/New Delhi, Jan 27 (NationPress) The Supreme Court on Monday confirmed the decision made by the High Court to annul an FIR filed against 28 BJP leaders, which includes BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, former Jharkhand Chief Ministers Babulal Marandi and Raghubar Das, former Union Minister Arjun Munda, and BJP MP Sanjay Seth, related to the Jharkhand Secretariat siege incident.

The apex court dismissed the Jharkhand government's Special Leave Petition (SLP) that contested the High Court's ruling.

During the proceedings, a Bench made up of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan criticized the recurrent application of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to suppress protests.

The court stated: “It has become a common trend to invoke Section 144 whenever a protest takes place. This sends a wrong message. If someone wants to protest, what is the need to impose Section 144? This constitutes a misuse of the provision.”

This case stems from an FIR registered on April 11, 2023, after the BJP called for a siege of the secretariat to protest against the alleged shortcomings of the Hemant Soren-led government.

In anticipation of the protest, police enforced prohibitory orders under Section 144 in the Jharkhand Secretariat vicinity and deployed water cannons, tear gas, and even resorted to lathi charges to disperse the crowd.

The protest escalated into violence at Ranchi's Dhurva Chowk, transforming into a battlefield for over two hours, resulting in injuries to more than 60 individuals.

The FIR, lodged based on the statement of Upendra Kumar, the Executive Magistrate of the Ranchi District Administration, accused the BJP leaders and unnamed activists of rioting, inciting violence, obstructing government operations, violating government orders, and causing harm to others.

The FIR alleged that the accused incited the crowd, dismantled barricades, threw stones, and hurled bottles at the police, resulting in injuries to police personnel, including SDO Deepak Kumar Dubey, Dhurva SHO Vimal Nandan Sinha, and several constables, in addition to journalists covering the event.

Among the 41 individuals mentioned in the FIR were notable BJP figures such as MPs Arjun Munda, Sanjay Seth, Nishikant Dubey, Samir Oraon, Sunil Kumar Singh, former Chief Minister Raghubar Das, and MLAs Babulal Marandi and Viranchi Narayan Singh.

After the FIR was filed, 28 of the accused sought its cancellation from the High Court. On August 14, 2024, the High Court annulled the FIR, a ruling later contested by the Jharkhand government in the Supreme Court.