Haryana Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu. (Express photo)

ARGUMENTS IN the case regarding an attack on former Haryana minister Captain Abhimanyu’s house during the 2016 Jat agitation concluded in a CBI court on Thursday. While the counsels say Section 124A (sedition) and Section 25 of the Arms Act have been dropped in the case being prosecuted by CBI, an order was not immediately available.

In February 2016, when the Jat agitation that had turned violent, an agitated mob had barged into Abhimanyu’s private residence in Rohtak and damaged it. Parts of the house and Capt Abhimanyu’s private vehicles were set on fire. A Cabinet minister at that time in the state government, Abhimanyu had faced a tough time rescuing his family who were in the house when the mob attacked.

The matter was probed by the CBI and a chargesheet was presented before the court in 2018.

The next date of hearing in the case is February 12. There are 55 accused named in the FIR, of which one has died while another was declared a proclaimed offender in October 2019.

Advocate Satish Kadian, who represents seven accused in the case, on Thursday said, “The court has today said that Section 124-A and the Arms Act provisions are not made out. Some of the accused were not present.” Advocate Amit Dudeja said, “The order can be expected on February 12, which is the next date of hearing.”

Besides the sedition charge and charges under Arms Act, the CBI in the case had concluded that the accused have committed offences relating to 120B, 148, 149, 151, 186, 188, 307, 395, 427, 436 and 450 of the Indian Penal Code. Three of the accused in the case were recently granted bail by the High Court after incarceration of more than three years, while observing the right to a speedy trial is one of the components of right to life and liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution under Article 21.