Thiruvananthapuram: The Judicial Magistrate Court (Three) on Thursday rejected the bail plea of the SFI activists who protested against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan recently. The court observed that prima facie, the charges levelled against the accused held water. While the prosecution stated the accused had committed a grave offence, the defence counsel argued the students were only protesting and that they did not obstruct the Governor.
The Cantonment police had registered a case against SFI workers Yadhukrishnan, Ashique Pradeep, R G Ashish, Dileep, Ryan, Aman Gafoor and Rino Stephen. The accused were booked under IPC sections 143, 147, 149, 283 and 353. IPC Section 124 was charged on the instruction of the Governor.
Section 124 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) covers assaulting the President or Governor with the intent to force or stop them from exercising their lawful powers. The punishment for this offence includes seven years in prison and a fine.
While Section 143 deals with the punishment for unlawful assembly, which includes imprisonment of up to six months and a fine, Section 147 deals with the punishment for rioting, which includes imprisonment for up to two years and a fine. Under IPC 353, anyone who assaults or uses criminal force to deter a public servant from performing their duty can be sentenced to imprisonment of up to two years and a fine. This is a non-bailable offence.
Meanwhile, the Thiruvananthapuram City Commissioner admitted the lapse on the part of the police in not being able to prevent the incident and submitted a report to the DGP stating that it was, however, not intentional.
"SFI activists vandalised the Governor's vehicle and blocked it for two seconds. Though this is a failure on the side of the police force, it was not intentional. Given the possibility of a protest, the Governor's security had been increased on the day. Police personnel were also deployed at four places where protesters had camped. However, in the busier areas of Palayam, some SFI activists had mixed in with the crowd to jump at the vehicle when it arrived. This reportedly led to the incident," stated the Commissioner's report.
Even if the Governor has Z+ security, there is a practical difficulty in providing additional security by setting up barricades and restricting traffic every time. City Commissioner C H Nagaraju said he will consult with Raj Bhavan and decide on the possibility of providing such security in the future.
