Delhi Police objects to statements in plea related to Jamia violence during anti-CAA protests
New Delhi: Delhi Police Monday objected to certain statements made in the Delhi High Court plea related to the violence during Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act last December, saying they are more of a political statement made at a protest site.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing Delhi Police, took strong exception to the language used in certain paragraphs of the rejoinder filed by one of the petitioners in the matter and said you cannot malign constitutional authorities like this .
The irresponsible pleading is becoming an order of the day... This is more of a political statement made at a protest site and cannot be a pleading before the highest court of the state, the senior law officer said, referring to the averments made in the rejoinder.
Mehta contended that irresponsible pleadings have been filed in the rejoinder of one of the petitioners Nabila Hasan who has sought action against the police for allegedly brutally attacking the petitioners, students and residents of JMI.
Hasan's plea has also sought action against the alleged ruthless, and excessive use of force and aggression unleashed by the police and paramilitary forces on students within the university.
Mehta was referring to the statement made in the rejoinder which said: The police were utterly lawless obviously with clearance from the to. It is very probable that the order to mercilessly beat the students and break their bones as they began to assemble outside Jamia to begin a peaceful march to the Parliament came from the Home Minister.
The rejoinder also stated, The police force behaved as if they were common criminals. Their conduct was such that it would appear to the common person that the police force had been given instruction from the home Minister to break the law at will and to cause as much pain and damage and loss to the public as possible.
Raising objection to these statements, the Solicitor General said broadly everyone knows the intention behind filing of a petition but it should not be made so obvious in the pleadings.
It is an example of irresponsible pleading. The intention comes out clear. You cannot malign the constitutional authorities like this. This brings the cat out of the bag. I have been saying this since the beginning that there is an agenda behind these petitions which are being pursued so vigorously, he contended.
After noting the objections, a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan, conducting the hearing through video conferencing, asked senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing Hasan, as to why he was making such allegations against the Home Minister and asked him to decide if he can removed them.
To this, Gonsalves submitted that he will delete the particular lines immediately not because he thinks he was wrong but because he does not think that these statements are worth the court's time or his time. He will file the rejoinder again after deleting the particular lines pointed out by Mehta.
During the hearing, the court asked the petitioners to form a list of issues to be decided in the petitions and the Solicitor General will respond to it.
At the end of the hearing, senior advocate Salman Khurshid, representing one of the petitioners, on a lighter vein said the Solicitor General has a huge collection of Urdu gazals by heart and he should respond to the issues with an Urdu couplet.
To this, Mehta responded with a Mirza Ghalib couplet, kaasid ke aate aate khat ek aur likh du, main janta hu kya wo likhege jawab me (Let me write one more letter, before the messenger comes, I know what he/ she is going to write in the answer).
He further said, like Ghalib, I will also keep my issues ready for consideration since I know what your issues are going to be.
The court listed the matter for further hearing on July 13. Opposing a batch of six PILs seeking setting up of a judicial commission to look into the violence, the police have said the claim of police brutality is utter falsehood.
The police have filed the affidavit in response to various petitions, moved by lawyers, students of JMI, residents of Okhla in south Delhi, where the university is located and the Imam of Jama Masjid mosque opposite Parliament House, in which they had also sought medical treatment, compensation and interim protection from arrest for the students.
The pleas have also sought registration of FIRs against the erring police officers.
Delhi Police, in its affidavit filed through advocates Amit Mahajan and Rajat Nair in response to the petitions, has sought dismissal of pleas seeking quashing of FIRs and directions against alleged police brutality in the university during the anti-CAA protests.
It said the petitions were an utter abuse of PIL jurisdiction as the incidents of violence in and around the campus were well-planned and orchestrated attempts by some persons with local support.
The affidavit filed by Rajesh Deo, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, said exercising the fundamental right to dissent should be respected, but no person can be allowed to commit breach of law, indulge in violence, arson and riotous activity causing danger to life, limb and property of innocent citizens under the garb of exercise of the fundamental right of free speech and assembly. Such fundamental rights are not absolute and are liable to reasonable restrictions under the Constitution, it has said.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
