Court acquits man charged with criminal offence for not wearing mask during lockdown

New Delhi: A court here has acquitted a man who was not wearing a mask during the lockdown in January 2022 of the charge of disobeying a public servant's order.

The court gave the accused the benefit of reasonable doubt, saying the presumption of knowledge of the order to wear masks cannot be attributed to the accused. The court was hearing a case registered against Kadir Khan, who was accused of violating the order to wear masks in public places during the lockdown in the

national capital.

According to the prosecution, the accused was found "wandering without a mask" in front of Chhatarpur Metro Station on January 7, 2022.

"...In the considered opinion of this court, the prosecution has failed to prove its case against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. The accused is hereby acquitted of the offence punishable under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)," Metropolitan Magistrate T Priyadarshini said in a recent order.

The court said the complainant, assistant sub-inspector of police (ASI) Tribhuvan, did not place on record any newspaper in which the said order or notification was published, nor did he click a photograph of the accused. There was also no public witness in the present case, the court said.

"Thus, there is no evidence produced by the prosecution to show that the said order in question was ever published in any newspaper or given any publicity in the general public and accordingly, the presumption of knowledge of the alleged order cannot be attributed to the accused," the court said.

So the charge could not be sustained and the accused deserved to be acquitted, the court added.

The Ghitorni Metro police station had registered an FIR against Khan on the basis of the complainant's statement.