Mumbai Police Withdraws Case Against 36 People For Gateway Of India Protest Over 2020 JNU Violence

The Mumbai Police in its plea contended that the accused persons did the alleged act as a protest “without any personal interests or benefits”. 

Several students from various colleges in Mumbai staged a protest at Gateway of India after violence in JNU in January 2020

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New Delhi: A court in Mumbai allowed the police to withdraw their case against 36 people involved in a protest at the Gateway of India after an attack on students at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2020, reported PTI. In their plea, the police said that the accused had committed the alleged act without any “personal interests or benefits”. 

The Esplanade court's Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate S V Dindokar earlier this month allowed the application for withdrawal of the case and the order was made available on Monday. 

The Mumbai Police in its plea filed through Additional Public Prosecutor Gautam Gaikwad contended that the accused persons did the alleged act as a protest “without any personal interests or benefits”. 

"There is no loss of life as well as loss to public property," the police said.

The application is allowed and the case is disposed of as withdrawn, the court said.

Several students from various colleges in Mumbai had gathered at the Gateway of India in Mumbai to protest against and condemn the violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi in January 2020. 

Following the incident, the Colaba Police which was probing the case had filed a chargesheet against 36 people in December 2020. 

The chargesheet had said people began to assemble holding candles at the Gateway of India around midnight on January 5, 2020 after reports of violence against students at JNU emerged late in the evening.

The number of protesters rose to 400, it claimed.

The chargesheet also mentioned that the protestors were informed that they did not have the permission to assemble and the designated place to protest was at the Azad Maidan which was ignored and the protest was continued at the spot.