Court acquits snacks vendor of offence of obstructing public way

A court here has acquitted a man of the offence of obstructing public way and causing public nuisance by putting a snacks cart on the road, saying he may have been falsely implicated in the case.

A court here has acquitted a man of the offence of obstructing public way and causing public nuisance by putting a snacks cart on the road, saying he may have been falsely implicated in the case. Metropolitan Magistrate Apoorva Rana was hearing a case filed against Abdul Salam, who was accused of putting the snacks cart selling items like 'bhalla papdi' and 'chowmein' in the corner of a lane on Kapashera main road on January 2, 2018. Despite being asked to remove the cart causing obstruction in public way, Salam did not remove it, the prosecution said.

''... This court hereby accords the benefit of doubt to the accused for the offence under sections 283 ( danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation) and 290 (punishment for public nuisance in cases not otherwise pro­vided for) of the Indian Penal Code and holds the accused not guilty of commission of the said offence. Accused... is thus, acquitted...,'' the magistrate said in a recent judgment.

Noting the absence of the daily diary entry at the police station, the magistrate said it rendered the fact of the police officials' departure for patrolling and subsequent arrival on the spot ''questionable and suspicious''.

''Such material discrepancies raise doubt regarding the proceedings having been conducted at the spot and also give rise to the suspicion that the same was done in a mechanical manner in the police station itself and that the accused may have been falsely implicated in the present case,'' the magistrate said.

The court also noted the photographs of the spot and said, ''The said counter (cart) does not even appear to have been installed on the main road, rather the same has been apparently placed in one separate corner of the road, where no public persons walking past the said counter are visible at all, let alone, them facing inconvenience due to the same.'' It said no public person was identified or made a witness to whom obstruction, danger or injury was caused by the accused's act.

''In the absence of the complaint from any public person, it is difficult to comprehend as to how the act of the accused was causing inconvenience to passers-by or causing public nuisance,'' the court said.

It also noted the absence of any public witnesses and the non-recording of statements of the vendors or shop owners in the vicinity of the vendor's cart. Not only this, the investigating officer did not even note down the names and addresses of the neighbouring shop owners and other public persons or serve any notice to them, upon their refusal to join the investigation, the court said.

''All this creates a serious lapse on the part of the IO in conducting a fair and proper investigation, and thus, gives rise to suspicion in the version of the prosecution story,'' the court said.

The Kapashera police station had registered an FIR against Salam.

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