JNU Issue: Supreme Court to Hear Delhi Court Violence Case
Since Delhi police did not bother to take any action against the accused lawyers despite their crime committed in the broad daylight, Kamini Jaiswal and Prashant Bhushan decided to move the Supreme Court.
By Rakesh Raman
As the ruling BJP government in India and the Delhi government have completely failed to maintain law and order in the national capital, a couple of senior lawyers have moved the Supreme Court in a recent court violence case.
Advocate Kamini Jaiswal moved the Supreme Court Wednesday seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe violence by a section of lawyers in the Patiala House complex when Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar was produced in court. Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan also sought urgent hearing of the case filed by Jaiswal.
Reportedly, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the plea on Friday seeking contempt action against three lawyers – Vikram Singh Chauhan, Yashpal Singh, and Om Sharma – as they were allegedly caught on camera bragging about the attacks.
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It is alleged that the three lawyers have admitted their crime in which they had beaten up Kanhaiya Kumar and others, including journalists, in a court complex. They also said in the secretly recorded video conversation that they enjoy full support of the Delhi police.
Since Delhi police did not bother to take any action against the accused lawyers despite their crime committed in the broad daylight, Jaiswal and Bhushan decided to move the Supreme Court.
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On the other hand, Delhi police showed an unprecedented hurry in arresting student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and his two friends who have been told by the police to prove their innocence, even as the law says that you are innocent till you are proven guilty.
It is believed that the Delhi police officials are acting at the instance of BJP government that wants to suppress students’ dissent by using police force. It is also said that the goons who attacked people in the court complex enjoy BJP’s support; that is why police did not arrest them.
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Opposition political parties – including Congress and CPI(M) – have demanded the immediate removal of Delhi police commissioner B. S. Bassi, as the local police force has failed to maintain a peaceful atmosphere in the city.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has observed that the statement which was issued by the police as an appeal on behalf of Kanhaiya Kumar was not written by him voluntarily. The content, construction and framework of the statement were as dictated by the police, NHRC said.
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A copy of the inquiry report submitted by the NHRC team has been forwarded to the Commissioner of Police, Delhi and the Director General of Prisons, Tihar Jail for their comments, to be received by the Commission, by Friday.
The Delhi government – headed by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal – has repeatedly admitted that it cannot control increasing crime in the capital, as it has no control on police. It is not only about police. In fact, the Delhi government has shown its complete impotence in handling all other administrative matters. But surprisingly Kejriwal and his ministers are not willing to quit their positions, as they are greedy politicians.
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The police inaction issue in the case of accused lawyers was also raised by the opposition parties in the Parliament.
It is alleged that the lawyers have interfered in the “administration of justice” and willfully violated the orders passed by the apex court on February 17 when they openly attacked people in the court complex.
Both Kamini Jaiswal and Prashant Bhushan are the members of “Committee on Judicial Accountability,” a group of eminent lawyers of India who work to improve the accountability of judges.
By Rakesh Raman, the managing editor of RMN Company
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