CHANDIGARH: Chandigarh district court granted interim anticipatory bail to Punjabi singers namely Sarbans Prateek and Sukhwinder Singh who were booked by Chandigarh police when they were protesting in support of farmers in Sector 34.
The court order reads that as no recovery is to be effected therefore, in these circumstances, in the event of arrest of applicants, they shall be released on interim anticipatory bail to the satisfaction of IO/Arresting Officer. The court also directed that they should join the investigation and abide by the provisions of Section 438(2) Cr.P.C. The court further directed Chandigarh police to file Status report by December 15.
Apart from these two singers, Mehar Singh and Kirpal Singh, resident of Chandigarh were also granted interim anticipatory bail.
Advocate Vikram Vohra counsel argued that they were not in possession of any weapons/lathies/bhala and have not inflicted any injury on the police party. It was further submitted that they were protesting peacefully to support the Kisan protest. Further, no recovery is to be effected from the applicants.
The petitioners were booked by Chandigarh police and they moved to court on account of apprehension of arrest in respect of FIR dated 08.12.2020, Police Station South Sector-34, Chandigarh, under section 147/ 148/ 149/ 186/ 269/ 270/ 332/ 353 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Section 3 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 and Section 3 of Epidemic Act, 1897 .
It was mentioned that there was peaceful protest going on in front of Sector 34 Gurudwara and the object of such gathering was to protest against the three farm bills which in itself is seeing the mass agitation/protest on Delhi-Haryana
Border. That the Petitioners were not in possession of any weapons/lathis/bhala as contended by the prosecution and they have not inflicted any injury on the policy party. It was also submitted that the Petitioners were protesting peacefully and when they marched towards BJP Bhawan in Sector 33, police lathi charged them leading to various injuries to the people who have gathered there to support the protest. Advocate Vohra argued that there was a gathering of 600-700 people there including children, women and men and knowingly the police party lathi charged them and brutally attacked them.
It was submitted that the present case FIR is nothing but a tool used by the police party to harass and pressurize the Petitioners from stopping them to protest against the 3 farms bills . It was stated that the petitioner has no other alternative and efficacious remedy other than to move to this court praying for grant of concession of anticipatory bail.