Centre, police must reply in 4 weeks : HC

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 27

A day after pulling up Delhi Police for not acting against those making hate speeches, the High Court today gave them four weeks to respond to a PIL seeking FIRs against three BJP leaders for alleged inflammatory utterances.

On Wednesday, a Bench headed by Justice S Muralidhar had wondered why the police didn't register FIRs against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra and others who allegedly made hate speeches in Delhi where 38 persons have died and around 200 injured in riots.

"Take a conscious decision with respect to the registration of FIRs and report back tomorrow (Thursday)," Justice Muralidhar had said while hearing activist Harsh Mader's petition for hearing.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice DN Patel today allowed the Centre to become a party to the proceedings in the PIL seeking lodging of FIRs and arrests in northeast Delhi and gave four weeks to the Centre and Delhi Police to file their replies to the PIL.

The court allowed the Centre to become a party after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that since the Centre was responsible for maintaining law and order in Delhi, it be impleaded in the matter. Mehta said 48 FIRs had been lodged in relation to arson, looting and deaths in the communal riots and there should be no judicial intervention till normalcy was restored. On Wednesday, expressing "anguish" over Delhi Police's failure to register FIRs against three BJP leaders over their alleged hate speeches in connection with the Citizenship Amendment Act-related violence, Justice Muralidhar had noted the city had seen enough violence and it should not witness another 1984-like incident. Around 3,000 people, mostly Sikhs, had died in the riots in the capital in the aftermath of assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi October 31, 1984.

As Mehta said the condition was not conducive at the moment and FIRs would be registered at an appropriate time, Delhi Government’s counsel Rahul Mehra opposed it.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing the petitioner, pointed out that the Constitution Bench verdict in Lalita Kumari's case required the police to immediately register FIRs in cognisable offences.