NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday said it would hear the police before deciding a plea to include certain prayers in a case related to violence in Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019.
A bench of Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Anup Jairam Bhambhani said there was a procedure followed in the proceedings as per which an order could be passed only after hearing both the sides.
The police, it said, had raised serious objections to the petitioners’ application seeking to amend the prayers in the petition.
“We cannot hear the matter on lodging of FIR unless we allow the amendment application. First we have to allow this amendment application. For allowing this application there is serious opposition taken by the state and that side has to be heard before passing any order,” the bench said.
The court said if the amendment application was allowed only then it would permit the petitioners to argue on the prayer seeking lodging of FIR.
Several petitions were filed in the aftermath of the violence before the high court, seeking directions for setting up a special investigation team (SIT), commission of inquiry or a fact-finding committee, for medical treatment, grant of compensation and registration of FIRs against the erring police officers.
The petitioners include lawyers, Jamia students, residents of Okhla area, where the university is located, and the Imam of Jama Masjid mosque opposite Parliament.
In one of the petitions, the petitioners filed an amendment plea seeking inclusion of a prayer to direct the “Centre to treat this petition as information to the police and to register an FIR forthwith in respect of criminal offences committed by the police”.
It further asks to “arrest and prosecute the police personnel concerned”. The amendment plea also sought to include the prayer for directing that the FIRs lodged by the police against the students and their complaints against the police should be investigated by an independent agency and the accused persons should be prosecuted expeditiously.
During the hearing, special public prosecutor Rajat Nair, representing Delhi Police, said several prayers made in the batch of petitions were rendered infructuous as the incident took place in 2019.
The court enquired from senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for petitioner Nabila Hasan, about her locus to file the plea.
“How you have filed this petition for lodging of FIR against police officials on behalf of all the students who were injured? Who has given the authority to you? Where is your locus?” the bench asked.
It added, “These are basic questions which have to be addressed first. This is a gross misuse of the process of law.”
Gonsalves assured that the students gave the authority to file the plea and said there was a previous order of the court which mentioned the relevant prayers aside from the infructuous ones.
The lawyer said at the time of the incident, students were holding peaceful protests but the police attacked them mercilessly and fractured their bones while blinding one of them.
Police went to the girl students’ hostel and beat them up and also went into the library, he said.
The court posted the hearing on April 24.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions related to the violence that broke out in Jamia Millia Islamia following anti-CAA protests in December 2019.
The petitioners claimed there was a need for the constitution of an SIT which was independent of the police and the Central government to probe the alleged brutalities committed on the students by the police force.
They argued the move would “reassure the public” and restore faith in the system, but police opposed the plea, citing filed chargesheets. The petitioners had sought reliefs before the subordinate court concerned, the police added.