The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently quashed a first information report (FIR) lodged against Sukhbir Singh Badal, a leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab. The FIR had accused him of breaching government directives issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The case revolved around allegations that Badal and his supporters had visited a village in 2021 without wearing masks and had contravened COVID protocol while addressing purportedly “illegal” mining activities by a company.
A single-judge Justice Anoop Chitkara quashed the case and highlighted that Badal’s actions did not seem to indicate an intention to defy COVID protocols. The Court stated, “In a democratic country, if a well-established political person, on hearing serious complaints regarding any public issue, decides to verify the same by visiting the spot itself, it cannot be said that he intended to violate any promulgation issued by any government under Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 or Disaster Management Act, 2006.”
Badal, in his petition seeking to dismiss the FIR, contended that the case was driven by political motives. He argued that even if all allegations were taken at face value, they would not warrant prosecution. However, the State pursued legal action against him, which he asserted was driven by ulterior motives.
As per the FIR, on June 30, 2021, Badal and his supporters visited an Amritsar village without wearing masks. They were also accused of intimidating employees from M/s Friends and Company involved in mining work. The company’s employees reportedly fled, and the accused allegedly propagated that the company’s mining activities were unlawful. Despite the company employees clarifying that the mining was carried out under a government contract, Badal and his supporters persisted and caused disruption.
Due to COVID-19-related prohibitory orders from the District administration, Badal was accused of violating both COVID guidelines and obstructing legitimate mining activities. Consequently, he faced charges of deliberately disobeying government orders, criminal intimidation, and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
Badal’s counsel argued that, as the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, he had a duty to assess the situation on-site. Complaints had been lodged that the company was overcharging for sand and conducting non-scientific mining. It was emphasized that there was no evidence indicating Badal wasn’t wearing a mask. Moreover, being in an open area near a riverbed far from crowds made mask-wearing inconsequential.
The Court noted that the location Badal had visited was sparsely populated as the workers had fled upon seeing him. Therefore, there was no risk of infection for the company’s employees even if Badal had hypothetically been infected with COVID-19.
The Court also found no evidence suggesting Badal displayed COVID-19 symptoms. Importantly, the Court observed that no other evidence had been gathered against Badal to substantiate a violation of the law. Consequently, the Court concluded that it was appropriate to dismiss the FIR and subsequent legal proceedings, granting Badal’s plea.
