Delhi court discharges TMC’s Derek O’Brien, Sagarika Ghose, 8 others in 2024 protest case
A Trinamool delegation had held a demonstration outside the Election Commission office against the alleged misuse of central agencies by the BJP government.

A Delhi court on Thursday discharged 10 Trinamool Congress leaders including MPs Derek O’Brien, Sagarika Ghose and Saket Gokhale in a case related to a protest outside the Election Commission’s office last year despite prohibitory orders being in place, PTI reported.
The order was passed by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal of Rouse Avenue Court.
The other leaders who were discharged in the matter are Mohammad Nadimul Haque, Dola Sen, Vivek Gupta, Arpita Ghosh, Santanu Sen, Abir Ranjan Bishwas and Sudip Raha, The Economic Times reported.
In April 2024, the 10-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress held a protest against the functioning of central investigative agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation, the National Investigation Agency, the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department.
The Trinamool Congress had expressed concerns about what they alleged was the misuse of the agencies by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government to target Opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
According to the Delhi Police, the protest took place without permission and in violation of the Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The section prohibits the assembly of four or more persons in an area under certain conditions.
The police had alleged that the persons accused in the matter continued the protest despite being informed about the prohibitory orders, following which a first information report was registered.
The court had earlier taken cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the police on April 21 and summoned the accused.
On April 30, it granted exemption from personal appearance to all persons accused in the matter except Gupta, PTI reported. On May 13, the court granted them bail in the matter.