The Chandigarh administration has approached the Supreme Court challenging a decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court that quashed criminal proceedings against Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and several leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in a case relating to rioting and unlawful assembly.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipin Pancholi agreed to list the plea for hearing after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Union Territory administration, apprised the Court that additional respondents would have to be impleaded in the matter since similar relief had earlier been granted to others connected with the same case
Acknowledging the request, the Court stated that the case would be listed once the application to add additional respondents is formally filed.
The FIR was registered by Chandigarh Police in 2020 after Mann and other AAP leaders organised a protest march against the increase in electricity tariff. The protesters had allegedly planned to surround the residence of the then Punjab Chief Minister but were stopped by the police using water cannons, following which stone pelting on police personnel was allegedly reported.
On November 29, 2025, Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya of the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed petitions seeking the quashing of the FIR filed by Mann and other party leaders.
The High Court held that there was no justification for preventing the protest march since no prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had been imposed at the relevant time.
The Court further noted that none of the persons allegedly involved in stone pelting had been specifically identified and that there were no allegations that the petitioners had instigated such acts. It observed that no specific words, gestures, or overt acts had been attributed to the accused leaders.
Holding that there was no basis to connect the petitioners with the alleged violence, the High Court concluded that offences relating to rioting, assault on police personnel, and unlawful assembly were not made out in the facts of the case.
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