The Gujarat government has moved the High Court against the acquittal of Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani and nine others in connection with a 2017 case related to the ‘Azadi March’ held without police permission. The appeal comes more than a year after the Mehsana district court quashed a lower court’s conviction and sentence against Mevani and his associates.
Justice H.M. Prachchhak heard the case on Thursday. Advocate Rahul Sharma, representing the accused, informed the court that his clients had not received a copy of the government’s appeal. The High Court directed the state government to provide the necessary documents and adjourned the hearing.
The controversy dates back to July 2017, when Mevani and others organized the march from Mehsana to Dhanera in Banaskantha district without obtaining police clearance. The Mehsana police had booked 12 individuals under Section 143 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for unlawful assembly. Of those named, one person passed away and another remained absconding during the trial.
In May 2022, a Mehsana judicial magistrate convicted Mevani, AAP leader Reshma Patel, and members of Mevani’s Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, sentencing them to three months in jail and imposing a fine of ₹1,000 each. However, on March 29, 2023, the Mehsana district court overturned the conviction, deeming the charges baseless due to the absence of restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC, which prohibits public gatherings.
In its order, the district court underscored the constitutional right to freedom, stating: “The right of freedom enshrined in the Constitution is not merely academic but is the cornerstone of a democratic nation. Deliberations, discussions, debates, and bona fide dissent against government policies are essential for the survival of democracy.”
The state government’s appeal aims to reinstate the initial conviction, adding another layer of legal scrutiny to the politically charged case.
