Delhi government minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and nine others have been acquitted by the Rouse Avenue Court in connection with a 12-year-old case of protesting outside the Congress headquarters. The case, registered in 2013 at Tughlaq Road police station, accused them of unlawful assembly, violation of Section 144, and damaging public property during a demonstration against former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar.

The Court’s Decision

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal, delivering her verdict on Tuesday, granted the accused the benefit of doubt and acquitted them of all charges under Sections 147, 149, 188, and 427 of the IPC.

The Case Background

The charges stemmed from a protest outside the All India Congress Committee (AICC) office, where demonstrators allegedly broke barricades, shouted slogans such as “Hang Sajjan Kumar” and “Down with Congress,” and damaged a government bus window during a scuffle with police.

Who All Were Acquitted

Along with Sirsa, those acquitted include:

• Manjit Singh GK (then president, SAD Badal & DSGMC)

• Onkar Singh Thapar (then member, DSGMC)

• Kuldeep Singh Bhogal

• Mandeep Kaur Bakshi

• Avtar Singh Hit

• Harjeet Singh (then deputy general manager, DSGMC)

• Harmeet Singh Kalka (then joint secretary, DSGMC)

• Tejinder Pal Singh Goldy

• Baljit Kaur Khalsa

Prosecution’s Argument

The prosecution argued that despite being warned about Section 144 restrictions, the protesters broke barricades and continued their agitation, causing damage to public property. Based on this, charges were filed under various IPC sections.

Acquittal

However, the court ruled that the evidence was insufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt, thereby acquitting all accused persons.