The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday extended the interim stay on the Sambhal chief judicial magistrate’s order that directed the registration of a first information report against several police officers in connection with the violence in the town in November 2024, Live Law reported.
On January 9, Sambhal Chief Judicial Magistrate Vibhanshu Sudheer ordered that a case be registered against Additional Superintendent of Police Anuj Chaudhary, Inspector Anuj Tomar and 15 to 20 unidentified police officers in connection with allegations that a man, Alam, had been shot and injured during the 2024 unrest in the town.
Violence broke out on that day after a group of Muslims objected to a trial court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Chandausi town.
The trial court had ordered the survey in a suit claiming that the mosque had been built in 1526 by Mughal ruler Babar on the site of the “centuries-old Shri Hari Har Temple dedicated to Lord Kalki”.
Five persons were killed in the violence.
Chaudhary was the circle officer of Sambhal at the time.
Yameen, the father of the man who was allegedly shot, said that his son, Alam, had left home that day to sell rusks. He alleged that Alam had been shot by the police near the mosque.
The chief judicial magistrate had said that while it was clear that Alam had been hit by gunshots, the identity of the shooter needed to be investigated. He had remarked that since the offence of attempted murder is serious, it was unlikely that the victim would spare the actual attacker by falsely accusing someone else.
Sudheer had also said that for criminal acts, the police could not invoke the defence that they were merely discharging their official duties.
Weeks after his order, Sudheer was among 14 judicial officers transferred by the High Court. He was transferred on Tuesday to Sultanpur as a civil judge (senior division) on January 20.
Aditya Singh, who was the civil judge (senior division) at Sambhal’s Chandausi town, has replaced him. Singh was the judge who passed the order directing a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Chandausi town.
On Tuesday, Justice Samit Gopal was hearing a petition filed by Chaudhary and Tomar against the order. Gopal extended the interim order granted earlier and fixed April 21 as the date for next hearing.
The High Court had earlier stayed Sudheer’s order after hearing the petition challenging it.
At the time, the counsel for the state government told the High Court that the chief judicial magistrate had exceeded the boundaries of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita by ignoring mandatory safeguards under the law, Live Law reported. The police officers were not given any opportunity to explain the allegations against them before the magistrate, the counsel had added.
Also read: This Instagram-influencer cop is Adityanath’s key to Sambhal
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