‘Led protesters at Jantar Mantar to violate orders’: Court convicts Lamba in 2024 case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday convicted Congress functionary Alka Lamba in a 2024 case related to assaulting police personnel and violating prohibitory orders during a protest at Jantar Mantar, noting that she played a “pivotal role” in leading and escalating the demonstration beyond permissible limits.Additional chief judicial magistrate Ashwani Panwar observed that organisers and participants were fully aware of the conditions governing the protest and were “duty-bound to scrupulously follow the instructions of the senior police officials on duty”. The court added that these were “not unreasonable restrictions upon the rights of the organisers, participants and the accused”.“The accused, being a responsible citizen, was duty-bound and expected to ensure public order at the time of holding protest at the site.

However, the accused miserably failed to fulfil the corresponding duty and paid no heed to warning given to her by the police officials declaring her protest as unlawful,” the court said.Lamba has been convicted under BNS sections 132, 221, 223(A) and 285.An FIR was registered at Parliament Street police station in July 2024 after police alleged that despite repeated warnings, Lamba and other protesters pushed police personnel, attempted to breach barricades and sat on the road, obstructing public movement.

Lamba denied any wrongdoing, maintaining the protest remained peaceful within the exempted area, and that neither she nor the protesters committed any violent act or violated the law. She contended that no order under BNSS Section 163 was communicated to the protesters, and described the call for a gherao as “merely symbolic”, asserting that protesters never marched towards Parliament. She said crossing the first barricade was only a symbolic act of protest and denied blocking any public road, claiming protesters merely pushed back lightly after police used force while attempting to pull them away.However, additional public prosecutor Chiranjit Singh argued that Lamba was “instrumental” in leading protesters beyond the permissible protest area. He submitted that video footage showed the accused using criminal force and assaulting police personnel while wilfully disobeying orders promulgated by public authorities.Relying on the video footage submitted by police, the court observed, “The accused played a pivotal role in leading the protesters and continued with her gestures in guiding every move of the protesters. She can be seen repeatedly gesturing the other protesters to cross the barricade, jump the same, and even led them by jumping off the first barricade first. She was the first one to jump the second barricade too.”Calling the footage decisive, the court said the videos “clearly show the aggressive action of the accused” in leading protesters to violate orders, block a public road and use criminal force against police personnel.