Clarion India
NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court while hearing a batch of petitions in connection with the violence that broke out in and around the Jamia Millia Islamia in December last year, on Friday observed that the report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) “does not give a clean chit to anyone”.
A division bench of the high court presided by Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan said, “The NHRC report does not give a clean chit to anyone. It has stated that the entire police action was not handled very professionally.”
The comment from the judges came while Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aman Lekhi appearing for the Delhi Police was citing the said report in order to justify the police action in and around the varsity in December last year.
The ASG argued that the entire police action was warranted, however, there were some individual cases of minor infractions. Following which, the court passed these observations.
The NHRC report also criticised the use of social media for circulating false rumours, the ASG argued while adding that the petitions too are based on such “rumour mongering”
Following these arguments, the bench has now slated the matter for further hearing on August 28 post lunch.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions relating to the violence that broke out in and around the Jamia MIlia Islamia in December last year. The batch of petitions which include the one filed by one Nabila Hasan sought action against the allegedly ruthless, and excessive use of force and aggression unleashed by the police and paramilitary forces on students within the university.
The batch of pleas have also sought registration of FIRs against the erring police officers.
The Delhi police had lunched a brutal crackdown on students injuring scores of the protesters badly. The police had entered the campus and the library to beat up the students without taking permission from the university administration. Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) had turned violent on December 15 near Delhi’s Jamia Nagar.
(With inputs from IANS)
