Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah approached the Supreme Court after the Karnataka High Court refused to quash a 2022 case against him and other Congress leaders regarding a protest march. The Karnataka High Court on February 6 refused to quash the proceedings and directed Siddaramaiah to appear before the trial court on February 26.
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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has escalated his battle to the Supreme Court, challenging a Karnataka High Court verdict that dismissed his petition to nullify an FIR filed against him and other prominent Congress leaders in 2022.
This legal action stems from a protest march aimed at encircling the residence of the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in Bengaluru, a move sparked by demands for the resignation of KS Eshwarappa, the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister at the time, over allegations of corruption linked to a contractor’s suicide.
The High Court’s ruling on February 6 not only denied the plea but also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on each petitioner, including Siddaramaiah, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, and State Ministers MB Patil and Ramalinga Reddy.
Furthermore, it directed Siddaramaiah to make an appearance before a special court on March 6. The police had registered a case against the Congress leaders for purportedly blocking roads and causing inconvenience to commuters during the march.
Siddaramaiah’s contention in the Supreme Court underscores the peaceful nature of the protest, arguing that it did not involve any violent actions or use of criminal force, thereby challenging the basis of the legal proceedings as an abuse of process.
His plea emphasized,
“An assembly of five or more persons will become unlawful only when they have a common object and the said object falls within the categories mentioned as first to fifth in Section 141 IPC. When the common object of the assembly does not fall within any of the five categories specified in Section 141, the said assembly cannot be said to be an unlawful assembly.”
This argument highlights the absence of any intention to incite violence or display criminal force during the assembly, which was solely convened to demand the resignation of a minister implicated in a suicide case.
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This legal challenge by Siddaramaiah not only brings to the forefront the intricacies of the Indian Penal Code, particularly Section 141 related to unlawful assembly, but also raises questions about the limits of peaceful protest and the interpretation of legal provisions in the context of political demonstrations.
As the Supreme Court deliberates on this appeal, the outcome is poised to set a precedent on the legal boundaries of protest marches and the definition of unlawful assembly in India, potentially influencing future political demonstrations and their legal scrutiny.
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