Mumbai Police Withdraw Case Against 36 People Involved In Protest At Gateway Of India

Mumbai’s local court on Monday has allowed the application moved by Mumbai Police to withdraw their case against 36 people involved in a protest at the Gateway of India after an attack on students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi in January 2020.

The Mumbai police in their plea said these accused had committed the alleged act without any “personal interest or benefits”. Earlier this Month Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate S. V. Dindokar had allowed the application for withdrawal of this case. The order was made available on court’s website on 31st January.

Additional Public Prosecutor Gautam Gaikwad, appeared for Mumbai police said that the accused persons did the alleged act as a protest “without any personal interest or benefits”. “There is no loss of life as well as loss to public property,” the police added.

After going through the application, the court said considering the allegations and facts of the case and the “alleged act being social and political in nature,” the prosecution does not want to proceed with the matter and has decided to withdraw the case. “The application is allowed and the case is disposed of as withdrawn,” the court added

In December 2020 the Mumbai police had filed a chargesheet against 36 people. Students from different colleges in Mumbai had joined the protest at the Gateway of India in Mumbai to condemn the violence at the JNU in Delhi in January 2020.

The Mumbai police in its chargesheet stated that the people began to assemble holding candles at the Gateway of India around midnight on 05th January, 2020 after reports of violence against students at JNU emerged late in the evening. “The number of protesters rose to 400,” police claimed.

As per chargesheet the protesters were informed that they did not have the permission to assemble and the designated place to protest was at the Azad Maidan but “This was ignored and the protest was continued at the spot,” it added.