Legal Protection for Farmers: FIR Quashed in Agriculture Protest Case.
16 October 2024
FIR >> Criminal Law
A petition was filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking the quashing of an FIR (Crime No. 86 of 2023) registered against the petitioner and others for offenses under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly with a common objective) of the IPC, and Sections 37(1) and 37(3) of the Maharashtra Police Act.
The FIR was lodged by the third respondent, a police official, who claimed that on 22nd March 2023, the petitioner, along with 12 others, formed an unlawful assembly to obstruct the convoy of the Honourable Minister for Agriculture. The convoy was allegedly halted by throwing cotton and empty curtains, which caused chaos and created a barrier to the minister's movement.
The petitioner argued that the incident occurred during a farmers' agitation over the prices being offered for cotton. The court noted that the right to protest is a fundamental right, though not absolute, and the actions taken did not appear to have a malicious intent to disturb public peace. Moreover, there was no mention in the FIR that the Minister was not given an opportunity to hear the agitating representatives. The court, in light of these points, decided to quash the FIR, exercising its inherent powers under Section 482 of the CrPC.
MAHARASHTRA VILLAGE POLICE ACT, 1967
Section 482., Code of Criminal Procedure - 1973
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
Section 143., Indian Penal Code - 1860
Section 147., Indian Penal Code - 1860
Section 149., Indian Penal Code - 1860
Section 341., Indian Penal Code - 1860