Mumbai: A Mumbai court said on Thursday wandering the city's streets late night when there is no curfew is not an offence.
The court was freeing a 29-year-old man whom the Mumbai police booked for sitting on a road in South Mumbai in what they alleged "under suspicious circumstances".
Quickly delivering the judgment within three days of charging him, the court said 1.30 am is 'not too late" for a city like Mumbai, according to The Indian Express.
Sumit Kashyap, a resident of Uttar Pradesh was booked for wandering at 1.30 am on June 13 at Cadbury Junction in South Mumbai under Section 122 (b) of the Maharashtra Police Act.
The section can charge a person found in the street between sunrise and sunset with face covered or disguised with an intent to commit an offence.
Police accused Kashyap of hiding his face with a handkerchief and not able to explain why he was sitting where he was sitting. Police claimed that he was intending to commit theft.
The court disagreed with police's version of his using of handkerchief as a cover up.
The court said people wear mask for safety during covid situation and if somebody with no mask might use a handkerchief instead. The fact that the accused was using a handkerchief does not mean that he was hiding his identity, according to the court.
The court also said that 1.30 am is not too late for a city like Mumbai, where anyone, according to the court, can stand on or near the road provided that there is no curfew.
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