Kerala court acquits VD Satheeshan, Hibi Eden, 6 other Congress leaders booked for participating in protest during COVID-19

A Kerala court last week acquitted 8 leaders of the Indian National Congress in a case registered against them in 2020 over a protest they held during the the covid-19 pandemic period. [State v Hibi Eden & Ors.].Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Naina KV passed the order acquitting Member of Parliament Hibi Eden, Leader of Opposition VD Satheeshan, Members of Legislative Assembly TJ Vinod, Anwar Sadath, and Roji M John, as well as congress members VP Sajeendran, MP John and Tony Chammani..The case against the politicians was that on June 19, 2020, they took part in an unlawful assembly near Menaka bus stop in Ernakulam to protest against the State government for allegedly ignoring the issues faced by expatriates owing to the restrictions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was alleged that they did so in violation of government orders and guidelines restraining public assembly.A first information report (FIR) was registered against them alleging commission of various offences punishable under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Kerala Police Act and the Kerala Epidemic Disease Ordinance, 2020. On issuance of process, all the accused persons entered appearance and were released on bail. They argued that the case registered against them was false and designed to quell protests against the State government. .The Additional Magistrate, upon going through the evidence rendered by the prosecution witnesses, noted that there were some contradictions, and that they were unable to mention the specific acts of the accused or place of occurrence.Further the prosecution failed to produce the investigating officer as a witness which the Additional Magistrate opined was fatal to the prosecution. After going through a host of precedents of the Kerala High Court on the essential ingredients to establish an unlawful assembly, the Additional Magistrate concluded that there was absolutely no evidence to prove that the accused persons have committed rioting as alleged. "The prosecution could not adduce evidence in support of their case. Further, though the allegation is that the accused gathered in prosecution of their common object to spread COVID 19, there is no evidence to prove that accused shared such an object," the judgment stated..It was also observed that the prosecution failed to submit any material to prove that there were any social distancing guidelines in place on June 19, 2020. "There is no evidence to prove that the accused acted so as to spread COVID 19. There is nothing in the evidence adduced by the prosecution to prove that the accused have committed any act which was dangerous to public or which would cause failure in public safety," the Additional Magistrate stated in the judgment..The accused politicians were, therefore, acquitted of all charges levelled against them..[Read Judgment]