A court in Imphal on Wednesday quashed a charge of attempt to suicide under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code against activist Irom Sharmila.
On August 9, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Imphal West, Lamkhanpao Tonsinghad, granted bail to her in connection with the same case.
Ms. Sharmila, who was present in the court on Wednesday, said she is "a free woman now”.
"Now that I'm a free woman, I'll convene a new political party on October 10 to fight the coming election,” she told journalists on the court premises.
The activist, who was on a 16-year fast, demanding that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) be repealed, said she wanted the support of people in her new endeavour. Hours after being granted bail, she broke her fast and announced her decision to contest the polls.
"All these years I was in Isolation. Now I want to meet with people, student bodies and other organisations and connect with their hearts and minds,” she said.
In March last, a trial court in Delhi acquitted her of the same charge of attempting to commit suicide during a fast-unto-death in the Capital in 2006 while demanding the scrapping of the AFSPA in Manipur.
