AAP MLA Anmol Gagan Mann, three others acquitted in case of assaulting public servants

The case dates back to August 4, 2021, when the AAP leaders had attempted to protest and gherao the BJP office in Sector 37, Chandigarh. Police intervened to prevent the protest from escalating, which led to a clash between AAP workers and police personnel, leaving some officers injured.

Following the incident, an FIR was registered at the police station in Sector 39, under Sections 188 (disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant to deter them from their duty), and 353 (assault or using criminal force on a public servant to prevent or deter them from discharging their duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly assaulting public servants and obstructing them from performing official duties, and allegedly tried to break barricades.

The FIR stated that the leaders violated social distance norms imposed by the government in view of Covid-19 outbreak at that time.

During the trial, the defence counsel PIP Singh argued that the four accused had been falsely implicated in the FIR and had no involvement in the matter.

After nearly four years of trial, the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate found that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt, and therefore, all the accused were acquitted. A detailed judgment meanwhile was yet to be released by the court.