Gurgaon: A district court has convicted a man for stepping out without a mask during the Covid lockdown and fined him Rs 200 — more than six years after an FIR was registered against him. Atul Dahiya, who pleaded guilty to violating lockdown orders, was spared jail after the court took a lenient view of his first offence.According to the prosecution, Dahiya, who works for a private company, was found walking on a public road in Palam Vihar on June 5, 2020, without a mask and without any specific work. This was in violation of govt restrictions imposed during the lockdown. An FIR was registered the same day and a chargesheet filed subsequently. The case was instituted in court on Sept 21, 2020.On Nov 11, 2026, judicial magistrate (first class) Neha served Dahiya a notice of accusation. He pleaded guilty to charges under Section 188 of IPC, dealing with disobedience of a public servant’s order, and Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. He chose not to contest the case.The court recorded his confession after observing that it was voluntary and had not been made under fear, force, coercion, undue influence or inducement.Dahiya told the court he had never imagined that stepping out briefly after being confined indoors for days would lead to a criminal case. “I had come out without wearing a mask just to walk in the open after being confined to the house for several days. Police caught me. I never thought this would lead to a court case,” he said. He pleaded guilty and sought leniency.During sentencing, his lawyer, Manish Kumar, submitted that Dahiya had no previous criminal record and assured the court that he would not repeat the offence. However, assistant public prosecutor Amrit sought a deterrent punishment to discourage such violations.Taking a lenient view, the magistrate said the nature of the offence, circumstances of the case and the offender’s character had to be considered while deciding punishment. Referring to the modern approach to criminal penology, she said offenders should be given an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves as law abiding citizens through corrective, non-custodial measures rather than imprisonment.The court imposed a fine of Rs 200, ordering seven days of simple imprisonment in case of default. Dahiya paid the fine and was let off.Haryana recorded 8,275 FIRs for Covid-related violations during the pandemic, of which 1,030 were registered in Gurgaon. The cases largely involved mask violations, gatherings and breaches of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC. From May 28, 2020, the state govt also introduced a Rs 500 penalty for not wearing masks in public places. Between March 2020 and Aug 2021, around 1.5 lakh challans were issued for mask violations in the city, fetching Rs 7.5 crore in fines.
