PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has quashed the First Information Report (FIR) and chargesheet filed against MLA Sankalp Amonkar in connection with the 2021 Melauli protest incident.
The Division Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Ashish Chavan ruled that the continuation of proceedings would amount to an abuse of law while holding that the case against Amonkar registered at Valpoi Police Station and later transferred to the Crime Branch did not warrant prosecution.
The Bench also set aside the subsequent charge sheet and related criminal case before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Valpoi.
The Bench noted that Amonkar stood on the same footing as other co-accused Tukaram Parab and Rohan Kalangutkar, whose cases had been quashed earlier in March 2025. In that order, the High Court had observed that the allegations, even if accepted at face value, failed to constitute any of the offences cited under the Indian Penal Code, including unlawful assembly, rioting, and conspiracy.
The FIR had alleged that Amonkar and others led a protest march in Melauli, Sattari, against a proposed government project and blocked the road near Valpoi Police Station, raising slogans against the police and administration.
Earlier, the defense counsels had argued that there was no evidence of the petitioner/s wielding weapons, or damage to the public property or injuring the staff inside the police station.
