HC grants Centre "last opportunity" to respond to plea to transfer Jamia violence probe from police
New Delhi, Nov 29: The Delhi High Court Tuesday granted a "last opportunity" to the Centre to file its reply to a plea seeking transfer from the Delhi Police to an independent agency the FIRs lodged against students in the incidents of violence in Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University in December 2019 following protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh issued notice to the Centre and asked it to file within a week its reply to the amendment application of a petitioner who also sought setting up of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to inquire into the alleged police atrocities that took place during the protests.
The court listed a batch of petitions, which have alleged use of "ruthless and excessive" force by the police and paramilitary forces on students, for further hearing on December 13.
"Advocate Rajat Nair, appearing for the respondent, prays for and is granted one week's time as the last opportunity to file reply to the application. Rejoinder, if any, by the petitioner be filed before the next date of hearing," the bench said.
The amendment application prays the FIRs registered by Delhi Police against students as well as the complaints made by the students should be investigated by an independent agency. It also suggested the names of certain civil servants who could be appointed to head the independent SIT.
The bench was informed by the counsel for one of the petitioners that some of the prayers in the petition have become infructuous owing to passage of time as the incidents are three years old.
During the hearing, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for petitioner Nabila Hasan, said at the time of the incident, students were holding peaceful protests but police attacked them mercilessly, fractured their bones and one student was even blinded.
Police went to girls' hostel and beat up the boarders besides storming the library, he alleged.
The bench, which noted since the pleas were filed at the time when the alleged incidents took place, some of the reliefs sought might have become infructuous.
It said the only prayers which survive were related to monetary compensation to the injured students and a court-monitored committee headed by a retired judge to inquire into the violence.
Taking note of a Supreme Court order of October 19, the high court had last month requested the bench headed by Justice Mridul to decide at an "early date" these petitions.
The petitions sought directions for setting up an SIT, Commission of Inquiry (CoI) or a fact-finding committee, medical treatment, compensation and interim protection from arrest for students and registration of FIRs against the erring police officers.
Police had earlier opposed the plea for setting up an SIT or a CoI to look into the incidents of violence, saying it will "amount to supplanting the law".
The petitioners before the court are 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.
On October 19, the Supreme Court had requested the high court to "hear out early" the petitions concerning the incidents of violence while noting that "these matters are pending before the high court for some time now".
In the main pleas, the petitioners have said there was a need for an SIT that was independent of the police and the central government which by their conduct have shown their investigation was "not independent".
They have said such a move will also "reassure the public" and restore people's faith in the system.
Earlier, the police had opposed the petitions, saying the reliefs sought by the petitioners cannot be granted as charge sheets have already been filed and that they should have sought whatever relief they wanted before the subordinate court concerned.
On the issue of police entering the varsity without permission, the police's counsel had said internationally police are not denied access to educational institutions and universities.
With regard to providing compensation to students who were seriously injured in the violence, he had said it can be awarded only if there was an admission of breach and, in the present case, the issue was still being examined.
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Ruckus outside counting centre in Mamata's constituency, TMC claims entry of car with BJP flag
Kolkata (PTI): The counting centre at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Bhabanipur assembly constituency witnessed a ruckus a day ahead of the counting of votes, with TMC workers alleging two cars bearing the BJP's flag were allowed entry to the compound where EVMs are kept.
The incident comes close on the heels of a four-hour-long sit-in by Banerjee in front of the same counting centre at the Sakhawat Memorial Girls School on Thursday night, alleging unauthorised entry of persons into the strongroom.
With the polling now over, the wrangling for power in West Bengal has turned into a battle of nerves between the incumbent TMC and the BJP. Workers and leaders of both parties have been keeping a steely gaze on the security of strongrooms across the state where the electoral fate of the candidates is sealed.
Despite expressing her confidence in a "landslide victory", Banerjee has repeatedly aired her apprehensions of "counting malpractice and EVM tampering ahead of the day of results".
On Sunday morning, TMC workers camping 100 metres from the counting centre alleged that two cars with BJP flags entered the premises and went near the strongroom.
"The CAPF personnel at the spot are not allowing any vehicle or person to enter the premises of the counting centre without valid identity proof. Then how come this car, which we have not seen in the past few days, was allowed entry? Once we protested, the central forces asked us to move 100 metres away," a TMC activist said.
The TMC claimed that while the police personnel posted there promised the vehicle would be removed from the spot, it remained there for some time.
A senior Election Commission official said the car was passing by the Harish Mukherjee Road, and after checking by security forces and police, it was allowed to leave as nothing objectionable was found in it.
On Thursday night, two counting centres, including one at Sakhawat Memorial Girls School in the city, witnessed high drama after TMC leaders alleged a lack of transparency and possible malpractice at the strongrooms housing sealed EVMs of the assembly polls, which concluded on April 29.
TMC leaders and candidates, Sashi Panja and Kunal Ghosh, held a sit-in outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra counting centre on Thursday evening, alleging unauthorised activities inside the strongroom amid the absence of TMC agents
In Howrah, TMC protested renovation work by the public works department at a place adjacent to the strongroom, and the EC stopped the work temporarily.
On Saturday, the ruling party filed a complaint with the poll panel, alleging unauthorised sorting of postal ballot covers at the EVM strongroom in Khudiram Anushilan Kendra.
Similar scenes were witnessed on Saturday outside the strongrooms at Asansol College in Paschim Bardhaman and the Barasat Government College in North 24 Parganas districts, where TMC workers held protests, alleging that CCTV cameras were switched off for several minutes.
The EC turned down all allegations, saying the surveillance cameras were working in an uninterrupted manner.
BJP spokesperson Sajal Ghosh told reporters that the people of Bengal were finding it "hilarious" that the TMC, "which used to win elections through unfair means and strongarm tactics" were now coming up with all sorts of "frivolous charges".
"Are they scared of losing?" he posed.
