The Supreme Court on Tuesday said there was no allegation that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and other AAP leaders accused in a 2020 rioting case “exhorted” a crowd protesting against the hike in electricity tariffs in Chandigarh.A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi deferred the hearing on the Chandigarh Administration’s petition challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order quashing the rioting case against Mann and other AAP leaders to July 30.On behalf of the Chandigarh Administration, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju sought to assail the high court order that quashed the FIR against Mann and other AAP leaders in the case.Justice Bagchi wondered how the mere presence of Mann and others amounted to hatching the conspiracy. “There is no allegation that he exhorted the crowd (of protesters),” the Bench said even as the AG asserted there was ample evidence to show that they exhorted the protesting crowd.On July 16, the Supreme Court had said it was not inclined to entertain the Chandigarh Administration’s petition challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order quashing a rioting case against Mann and other AAP leaders in connection with the 2020 protest against the hike in electricity tariffs.”Mr Raju, naarebaazi (sloganeering)… everyone does it in democracy. Now that he (Mann) is holding some responsible position…we understand he will understand his responsibility also…it’s alright I think now… If you are going to argue on merits, we will hear you. Otherwise, we are not inclined to interfere,” CJI Kant had told Raju.The Bench had deferred the hearing after ASG Raju insisted that he would like to argue the matter on merits.The ASG had said the petitioner was facing certain technical objections to the 3 cases filed by it challenging separate orders and that he should be given some time to address the issue. He also requested the Bench to direct the top court’s Registry to resolve it.Almost six years after the registration of the FIR, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had on November 29, 2025 quashed the FIR, charge sheet and all subsequent proceedings against Mann and other AAP leaders.The Chandigarh Police had lodged the case on January 10, 2020 after Mann, AAP leaders Aman Arora and Harpal Singh Cheema (now ministers), Baljinder Kaur, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, Sarvjeet Kaur and others over a protest march against an electricity tariff hike.In his November 29, 2025, order, Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya of the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the FIR against Mann and other AAP leaders, saying there was no reason for the police to stop the protestors as no prohibitory order had been issued under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.“Nobody has been named from amongst the persons present who allegedly pelted stones on the police force. Besides, it is not the case that the petitioners asked them to do so. The nature of alleged instigation by the petitioners has also not been mentioned; nor have specific words or gestures of any kind been attributed to them,” the high court said.The Chandigarh Police registered the case against the leaders on the complaint of a woman constable of the Chandigarh Police at Police Station, Sector 3, under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter the public servant from his duty), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offences committed in prosecution of common object).The complaint alleged that on January 10, 2020, many workers of the party led by these leaders pushed and attacked the policemen while they were stopped from moving towards the official residence of the then Chief Minister. She alleged that on being instigated by the leaders, the workers started pushing the police force and tried to break the barricades.Water cannons were used to disperse them, but the workers allegedly started pelting stones at the police force. She alleged many cops were injured in the attack.