Court dismisses JMI's plea seeking FIR against Delhi Police for 'subjecting students to brutality'

A Delhi Court on Wednesday dismissed Jamia Millia Islamia University plea seeking registration of an FIR against Delhi Police as it "entered the campus without permission and subjected the students to brutality" in 2019.

The court noted that acts allegedly committed by the respondents Delhi Police fall within the purview of section 197 CrPC (prior sanction from a competent officer is needed to prosecute a government servant for alleged criminal act done in discharge of his official duty) and the acts were committed in the discharge of official duties.

Metropolitan Magistrate Rajat Goyal dismissed the JMI University plea saying, "In view of the discussion, present application u/s 156(3) Cr.P.C. and accompanying complaint are hereby dismissed."

MM Goyal of Saket Court noted the in the instant case, it is an undisputed fact that all the respondents' police personnel were acting in order to control the law and order situation which had emerged in relation to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

Delhi Court also said that it is also an undisputed fact that many students of JMI applicant University were also protesting against the CAA.

"It cannot be denied that the said protests had taken a violent turn in many parts of the country and that law and order situation had become tense, " the court said.

It has been argued by Counsel for applicants that the violence was due to some anti-social elements and that the protests being held by students of JMI University were largely peaceful, the Court noted.

The court said that the argument is not relevant here as it is not for this court to determine this issue in the present proceedings.

The court said that one aspect is clear from the background is that some of the protests had become violent and that police, including the respondents, were acting to control the protests at the relevant point of time, so as to prevent violence and prevent law and order situation from further deteriorating.

"Though it could be argued that while so acting, the police/ respondents had allegedly exceeded their jurisdiction and used more force than necessary in some instances, it cannot be said, by any stretch of the imagination, that the said acts allegedly committed by the respondents were wholly unconnected to their official duty," the Court noted in its order copy.

"Likewise, it could also be argued that the situation perhaps could have been handled by the respondents in a better way and that some restraint should have been shown by the police/ respondents in order to differentiate between peaceful student protesters and antisocial elements who had attempted to hijack the entire movement. However, the lack of such restraint exhibited by the police/ respondents and excesses committed in trying to control the situation are very much related to the official duties of the respondents," it noted.

The Court also noted in the present application itself that respondents had broken into the University Campus for clearing the crowd which had gathered there to protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

"Thus, actions of respondents-- Delhi Police --in doing so are clearly connected to their official duties, though some of them said actions might be questionable," the court said.

"This court has no hesitation in holding that acts allegedly committed by the respondents Delhi Police fall within the purview of section 197 Cr.P.C., being acts committed in the discharge of official duties. Thus, as per the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of l Kumar v M K Aiyappa (Supra), the existence of requisite sanction is a must even before jurisdiction under section 156(3) Cr.P.C. could be exercised. That being so, the present application cannot be allowed for want of sanction under section 197 Cr.P.C," it said.

The court was hearing a petition filed by varsity's Registrar through Advocate Asghar Khan and Tariq Anwar stated that the Chief Proctor of the University filed a complaint dated December 16, 2019, to the S.H.O Jamia Nagar for registration of FIR and a copy of same was also sent via email on December 17, 2019, to S.H.O Jamia Nagar, DCP South-east and Commissioner of Delhi Police against the unauthorised entry of Police into the University campus, inflicting physical injuries to the students studying in the library and damaging the properties of University on 15.12.2019

Police in its Action Taken Report has requested to dismiss JMI University plea and said that with a view to contain the violence and maintain law and order, the police was constrained to enter the JMI university campus

( With inputs from ANI )