Kriti Agrawal
Session Court has refused to bail a 20-year-old boy who was arrested to play cricket on the streets earlier this month without wearing a mask, because he defied section 144.
Complaint registered on April 4 says that JJ Marg police called 7 people, including a minor were played cricket defying the orders, and one twisted the hand of a police officer that resulted in a fracture.
The court said in its order on Wednesday, “Considering the situation of Covid-19 in the state, particularly in Mumbai, (where) it is spreading like mayhem, the police authority has imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in Mumbai city to control the situation. In such a pandemic situation, the applicant along with other boys was allegedly playing cricket, that too without wearing a mask, prima facie contravening the provisions of Disaster Management Act. It is itself sufficient to hold that the applicant and other boys have formed an unlawful assembly with a common objection to take law in hand and contravene the guidelines issued by the state authority.”
On 4 April, a few youths on South Mumbai’s JJ Marg were detected by police patrollers. When the police arrived, the men fled behind, leaving their mobile phones, which had been kept on a table.
When they returned, the police threatened them that they would take action because they did not wear masks. One of the men twisted a constable’s wrist, leading to a fracture, when the police submitted before the court that they opposed the bail plea.
The players escaped and two a 20-year-old and a minor were subsequently arrested under different IPC, including 143 after allegedly assaulting the police (punishment for being a member of an unlawful assembly).
The rest were not yet named, including the man who injured the constable.
The court said, “though the applicant is 20 years old, however, he must have to know the situation of pandemic and to follow the guidelines issued by the local authority and police…the applicant along with other boys has not respected the guidelines issued in the midst of a pandemic to control the spread of Covid-19 and they have taken law in (their) hand. Therefore, even if the applicant/accused would be released on stringent conditions, it will be a serious menace to the general public at large.”
