Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Mumbai : It is not Illegal to be out on the Streets at 1.30 a.m.

Shivani Thakur

Published on: June 21, 2022 at 15:52 IST

A Magistrate Court in Mumbai stated that wandering the streets of Mumbai at 1.30 a.m. is not an infraction when acquitting a guy three days after he was arrested after he was found sitting in the dark near a wine shop under suspicious circumstances.

First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him under Section 122(b) of the Maharashtra Police Act.

NA Patel, the Metropolitan Magistrate in Girgaon, Mumbai, said that 1:30 a.m. is not too late in a metropolis like Mumbai, and that even if it was, there was no night curfew in effect at the time.

Even if it assumed that 01:30 am is too late then also wandering on the street is not an offence when there is no night curfew. Admittedly there is no night curfew in Mumbai therefore, if accused was standing on the road, it is not an offence,” it stated.

The Magistrate further remarked,

If anyone is not having mask then they use handkerchief as a mask and if accused is using the handkerchief as a mask to cover his mouth it does not mean that he is hiding his identity.”

As a result, it dismissed the Prosecution’s claim that the accused did not provide adequate replies to the cops, describing their comments as vague because the cops did not reveal the specifics of the questions they asked.

As a result, the Court found the defendant not guilty and acquitted him.

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