The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Center and the Delhi Police while hearing two petitions seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into alleged police excesses on Kokruche Janta Party (CJP) student protesters at Jantar Mantar, saying the incident was not “isolated”.
When the Center and the police were asked to provide responses, a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia directed the police to preserve CCTV footage, video and other digital records related to the incident.
The petitions filed by lawyers Umesh Kumar and Anshul Kumar will be heard on September 11, the bench said.
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“Is it a case of an isolated, isolated incident? Probably not. This is one. Number two, if it is an unlawful assembly as you say, it is subject to more arguments and subject to more warrants. There is a law on how to deal with it. If these issues are raised in the PIL, how can you say that every individual has to go and file an FIR,” the court told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju. “They have issued notice. In the meantime, we direct that the relevant record, including CCTV footage and video, if any, be preserved,” the court said.
Petitioners seek publication records
Senior advocates N. Hariharan, Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Vikas Singh who appeared for the petitioners to produce posting records and orders authorizing use of force, identify responsible officers and register FIRs against the errant individuals.
Hariharan said the protest at Jantar Mantar was a peaceful exercise, but was met with excessive and disproportionate police force. Protesters were allegedly attacked with nails, pellet weapons and electrically charged batons without warning, resulting in more than 90 people being injured and many women being harassed. Singh added that the police, accompanied by several people wearing civilian clothes, attacked the demonstrators without provocation.
Read also | ‘Keep CCTV’: Delhi HC on petition alleging police brutality during CJP protest
Police describe the appeals as “publicity-seeking petitions.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the police, described the petitions as “publicity-seeking petitions” filed by individuals to “shine the limelight”. Raju added that the agitation did not remain peaceful, and there were videos showing injuries among police officers and damage to police cars.
The petitions were filed in the backdrop of the July 20 ‘Chalo Sansad’ rally, organized by the CJP after the hunger strike at Jantar Mantar.
HC rejects petition on Wangchuk’s removal
HC rejects petition seeking SIT probe into Wangchuk’s removal from the protest site
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court dismissed a plea seeking formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and registration of an FIR to probe the deportation of activist Sonam Wangchuk from the Kokruche Janta Party (CJP) protest site in Jantar Mantar to Safdarjung Hospital.
