Protest outside EC: TMC leaders gets personal appearance exemption

A Delhi court on Wednesday granted temporary exemption from personal appearance to several Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, journalist-turned-politician Sagarika Ghose, and party spokesperson Saket Gokhale, in connection with a case related to an unauthorised protest outside the Election Commission (EC) last year.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal granted the exemption for the day after an application was filed by their counsel. The relief was extended to eight TMC leaders in total, including MPs Santanu Sen, Dola Sen, Nadimul Haque, Arpita Ghosh, Abir Ranjan Biswas, and Sudip Raha.

The court directed all the accused to appear in person at the next hearing, scheduled for May 13.

TMC leader Vivek Gupta appeared before the court on Wednesday and was directed to return on the next date to formally submit his bail bond. The court also noted that earlier summons issued to MP Santanu Sen had not been served. A fresh summons was ordered.

The case stems from an incident on April 8 last year, when a group of TMC leaders staged a demonstration outside the ECI’s headquarters in New Delhi without prior permission. According to Delhi Police, the protest violated Section 144 of the CrPC, which prohibits unlawful assembly.

Despite warnings from police, the protest continued, leading to the registration of an FIR. The demonstration was held against alleged misuse of central investigative agencies including the CBI, NIA, ED, and Income Tax Department.

The protest followed a meeting between a TMC delegation and the EC, where the party raised concerns over what it claims is the political targeting of opposition leaders by the Centre.

India