A Delhi court has dismissed a plea seeking registration of a first information report in the January 5 mob attack on teachers, students and staff of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Bar and Bench reported on Friday. The court said that an FIR was already filed in the case and the police were investigating the matter.
The plea was filed by Suchitra Sen, a professor of JNU, who had sustained injuries during the violence. Delhi Police had filed a status report in the matter, which said that its Crime Branch was already conducting an inquiry into the attack. The police said that the investigation was in progress and all effort was being made to identify the attackers and conclude the inquiry in a time-bound manner.
The court acknowledged that it was necessary to register an FIR whenever any act disclosed the commission of any cognizable offence. However, it said that in the present case, Sen’s grievance was that a separate FIR was not lodged in her case.
It observed that while Sen wanted a separate FIR, she had not made any apprehension that her complaint will not be investigated as part of FIR that has already been registered.
The judge said:
“The injuries suffered by number of persons including the complainant was a result of violent act which forms part of same transaction for which FIR is already registered as it not only has proximity in time and place but also the damage to property and injuries suffered by the complainant and other persons. Hence, I am satisfied that no directions are required for registering separate FIR on the complaint made by the complainant.”
— Pawan Singh Rajawat, chief metropolitan magistrate, Saket
The judge, however, directed the deputy commissioner of police of the Crime Branch to file a status report of the inquiry of the FIR filed on December 19. The police had lodged the FIR at Vasant Kunj (North) police station on January 6 and it was later transferred to the Crime Branch.
Sen claimed that no action was taken on her complaint even after a representation was submitted to the special commissioner of police and the joint commissioner of police. The complaint filed by Sen had sought registration of a separate FIR in the matter. The court will hear the matter and review the status report on December 19 next.
On January 5, violence had broken out on the JNU campus, leaving several teachers and students injured. Video footage showed a masked mob wielding sticks and rods entering hostel buildings, sparking panic among students. At least 23 injured people were admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh and Sen were among those injured.
The students’ union had blamed the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad for the violence and claimed that members of the group had entered the university campus with rods. A research student told Scroll.in that the violence broke out after alleged members of ABVP began throwing stones at a protest march of students against the recent hostel fee hike proposal.
Several Opposition leaders had condemned the violence, holding the Narendra Modi government responsible for the attack on students. The BJP, however, said the violence was “a desperate attempt by forces of anarchy, who are determined to use students as cannon fodder”.
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