High Court gives bail to migrants who clashed with police, says they are not criminals

June 25: With the declaration of nationwide lockdown in the month of March 2020, there were multiple instances in various Indian states like, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi etc. where migrant labourers in large numbers took to the streets to return back to their home states. In the process, they engaged in clashes with the police in many states. Some walked thousand of miles to reach their homes, many died on the road after they met with accidents. However, many of them were imprisoned for violating lockdown and clashing with police. 33 such migrant labourers were imprisoned in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

On Tuesday, the Gujarat High Court granted bail to the 33 migrant labourers who had been in jail for more than a month for clashing with police in Ahmedabad. The High Court observed that the labourers were the victims and not the criminals. It also stated that instead of arranging for their travel back to their home states, these helpless lot were imprisoned when they were without work, money and food.