New Delhi: A year after a video of a police officer brutally assaulting a motionless dog with a lathi while on duty in New Delhi went viral on social media, the Karkardooma court has ordered the Jafrabad Police Station to file an FIR against the accused, Delhi police officer Ravinder Kumar, and to investigate the matter.
This order comes a year after the complainants first approached the court and advocate Gauri Puri first filed a complaint in Karkardooma court under Section 156(3) of The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, seeking the registration of an FIR.
“The message is clear – that cruelty towards animals will not be condoned, and there are people who are willing to invest their whole lives in bringing these matters to justice,” said Asher Jesudoss, one of the complainants and a former faculty member at IIT Delhi.
The order sets a precedent for future cases of animal abuse, as reporting cases of cruelty against animals under the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Prevention of Cruelty towards Animals Act, 1960; and the Delhi Police Act, 1978, have often been difficult in the country. Many animal welfare activists face roadblocks such as delay tactics.
Apart from ensuring that the FIR is filed and all community animals can be protected under Section 429 of the IPC, 1860, the court order also ensures that senior police officials do not use delay tactics and collect evidence immediately to avoid tampering and loss of evidence against the culprits.
The Karkardooma court also observed that the police conducted a “so-called inquiry” without registering an FIR and handed over clean chits to the accused without due investigation as per the Code of Criminal Procedure, which is impermissible under the law.
“The procedure of conducting ‘inquiries’ and handing over clean chits to the proposed accused…can lead to disastrous consequences, further quelling the faith of the common man in the administration of criminal justice,” Metropolitan Magistrate Bharat Aggarwal said.
The court also ordered that the investigation be done by an independent unit to ensure the probe is fair and impartial.
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