The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi High Court to expedite the hearing of petitions seeking first information report against alleged police brutality at Jamia Millia Islamia University in 2019, reported Live Law.
On December 15, 2019, violence had erupted on the Jamia Millia Islamia campus during the student protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The Delhi Police was accused of barging into the university campus and using excessive force to quell the demonstrations. The police claimed its action was justified as the protestors had allegedly injured its personnel and set buses on fire.
The Delhi High Court has been hearing a batch of petitions filed by lawyers, students of Jamia Millia Islamia University and residents of Okhla in south Delhi since 2019. However, so far no complaint has been filed against the police officials who attacked the students, reported PTI.
On Wednesday, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Vikram Nath heard a Special Leave Petition seeking an independent investigation into the violence.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioners, requested the judges to file the first information report against the police in the matter that has been pending before the Delhi High Court for nearly three years now, reported Live Law.
However, the Supreme Court said that it has “doubts about invoking” its jurisdiction in the issue. Gonsalves then requested the division bench to ask the Delhi High Court to finish the hearing within three weeks.
“We request the High Court to hear out the matter as expeditiously as possible,” the Supreme Court said. However, the court refused to specify a time period for disposal of the petitions.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!