Rail Bhavan dharna: Court fixes Oct 31 for arguments on charge

A local court today fixed October 31 for hearing arguments on framing of charges in a case in which Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and four other AAP leaders are accused of violating prohibitory orders during an agitation here.
Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain adjourned the matter as the lawyers in all the six district courts are observing indefinite strike protesting the delay in passing a bill in Parliament on enhancement of pecuniary jurisdiction of the trial courts.
The court had earlier fixed today for hearing arguments on framing of charges against the accused.
The AAP leaders are also accused of obstructing public servants in discharge of their duty.

Besides Kejriwal and Sisodia, Rakhi Birla, Somnath Bharti, Ashutosh and Sanjay Singh are the other accused in the case.
They were all named in a charge sheet by Delhi Police in connection with staging the protest against police officials outside Rail Bhavan last year. They were later granted bail by the court.

Kejriwal and other leaders had staged the dharna outside Rail Bhavan demanding action against police officials who had refused to carry out raid on an alleged drug and prostitution racket in South Delhi in January last year.
The six accused were named in the charge sheet for allegedly violating prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC and also obstructing public servants in discharge of their official duty.

They were charged under various sections of the IPC, including 145 (joining and continuing in an unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of his public function), 353 (assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty).
In its charge sheet, the police had claimed that on January 19 last year, the Assistant Commissioner of Police had imposed prohibitory orders in North Block, South Block, Vijay Chowk areas near Rail Bhavan and Parliament Street.
On January 20, 2014, Kejriwal and other AAP leaders assembled at the Rail Bhavan chowk defying the prohibitory orders, it had said.