[Farmers Protest] "No Specific Role": Delhi Court Grants Bail To Man Accused Of Attempting To Run Tractor Over Policemen In Tractor Rally

A Delhi Court on Monday granted bail to one Ashish Kumar in a case related to the violence that broke out during the tractor parade on Republic Day in relation to the farmers protest.

The Court observed that there was "no specific role assigned" to the accused in the case and that he had "not attempted to kill or hurt the police personnel" deployed in law and arrangement duty.

The bail was granted by Additional Sessions Judge, Amitabh Rawat subject to furnishing of a personal bond of Rs. 15,000 with one local surety of like amount.

"The ground of bail calls for balancing the paramount right of the individual i.e. right to liberty on one hand and right of the investigating agency to investigate." The Court observed at the outset.

Ashish Kumar was detained on the afternoon of 26th January 2021 after the police found that he had indulged in violence, allegedly damaged public property and attempted to run tractor over the police personnel who were deployed on duty. He was thereafter sent to judicial custody on the same day.

FIR was registered against Ashish under sec. 307, 147, 148, 149, 186, 332, 353, 188, 427, 269, 270 of Indian Penal Code read with Sec. 3 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, Sec. 51(b) of Management Act 2005 and Sec. 3 of Epidemic Disease Act, 1897.

While it was the case of the prosecution that the offences against the accused were serious in nature and bail should not be granted to him, it was submitted by the Advocate Arun Sharma, counsel for Ashish, that he was falsely implicated in the case.

According to the prosecution version, around 500 protestors had broken barricades in a violent manner on tractor rally near the Apsara Border flyover. It was also alleged that some people driving tractors had tried to run over the police personnel.

While granting bail to the accused, the Court observed thus:

"However, there is " in as much as the accused himself is not alleged to have attempted to kill or hurt the police personnel deployed in law and arrangement duty. The best case of the prosecution is that he had participated in the said rally/unlawful assembly on 26.01.2021 at the relevant time thereby attracting imputation u/s. 149 IPC. The applicant/accused was driving in his Scorpio Car and the same has been seized from the place of incident in damaged condition. The accused is in custody since 26.01.2021 and no purpose will be served by keeping him in custody any further."

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