2015 Trespassing Case: Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel Sentenced To 6 Months In Jail

A Delhi Court on Friday sentenced Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel to six months in jail in connection with the 2015 rioting case in which he trespassed the house of a realtor in an East Delhi colony. Goel along with his supporters had raided Manish Ghai's house in Vivek Vihar on February 6, 2015, a day before Delhi Assembly polls.

Earlier on Friday, Goel was convicted by Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court of trespassing into Manish Ghai’s house and causing hurt. The court had reserved the order and fixed October 18 as the date to decide on the quantum of sentence.

Goel was convicted under section 448 (house trespassing) and section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.

Goel had alleged that Ghai stored liquor to distribute in the elections. He forcefully broke the lock of a storeroom and manhandled Ghai's driver. After receiving the complaint, the police had reportedly seized the liquor and sent a report to the election commission.

An FIR was registered against Ram Niwas Goel following a complaint by Ghai. In the FIR, the BJP leader had alleged that the AAP's Shahdara MLA and his supporters raided one of his houses in Vivek Vihar on the night of February 6, 2015, a day before the Delhi Assembly elections.

The court had also convicted co-accused Sumit Goyal under section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), besides the offence of house-trespass.

The AAP leaders had refuted these claims, saying they had gone to the house with a police team comprising the local station house officer and assistant commissioner of police, among others after making a PCR call in this regard.

“As per the complainant, some labourers were staying at a house that was owned by him. He received a call from one of them at about 9.30 pm on February 6, 2015 about Goel and his associates forcibly entering the building and damaging the property,” police had said in a charge sheet.

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Ghai also alleged that the group broke a cupboard, drawers, kitchen items, windowpanes and mirrors in the house. When the labourers tried to resist, they were allegedly physically assaulted.