Mumbai,UPDATED: Nov 20, 2022 11:09 PM IST
(From left) Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Legislative Council of Maharashtra Ambadas Danve and MLA Bhaskar Jadhav
By Vidia : Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Legislative Council of Maharashtra Ambadas Danve and MLA Bhaskar Jadhav approached the Bombay High Court to request one of the two FIRs registered against them in connection with a protest in Navi Mumbai. The two FIRs were registered against them and others for “unlawful assembly, disobedience to order duly issued by an officer, wrongful restraint”, and other parts of the Maharashtra Police Act.
WHAT IS THE CASE?
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) District President Vithal More reportedly approached CBD Belapur police station on Oct 17 to hold a protest against the ruling government two days later on Oct 19. The police refused permission for the protest given the law and order scenario in the state.
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However, about 600 to 700 people had gathered for the protest.
The police intervened and stopped the protest, which caused a traffic jam in the Navi Mumbai area. Subsequently, an FIR was registered against 21 persons.
The Sena leaders’ plea filed through attorney Shubham Kahite said the FIR was filed without proper application of spirit and is in danger of being overturned. According to the plea, there are two separate FIRs registered by Navi Mumbai Police in different stations against Ambadas Danve, Arvind Sawant and Bhaskar Jadhav.
The first FIR was registered at the CBD Belapur police station and the second FIR was registered at the NRI Sagari police station. “However, the content of both FIRs is ad verbatim and has been submitted to different police stations on the same day within a short span of several hours, which very clearly points to the fact that both FIRs are only intended to harass the applicants and their political allies and to defame their image,” the plea said.
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It further added that “the subsequent FIR is nothing but an abuse of justice by the state apparatus…when one FIR has already been registered for offenses related to the same incident, it cannot be said that another FIR is for the same incident and so this is clearly against the principles of Double Jeopardy.”
The leaders claimed the FIRs were submitted “out of malice and sheer political vendetta with the intent to coerce, harass and intimidate the applicant as part of a larger ploy to silence opposition leaders from speaking out against the state government.”
The plea asked the court to quash one of the two FIRs – the one at CBD Belapur – and to suspend the investigation and not press charges.
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