New Delhi: Amid growing displeasure with the Uttar Pradesh government for its handling of the anti-citizenship law protests, the Allahabad High Court has stepped in to take cognisance of the allegations of the state’s deteriorating law and order situation.
Over the past month, the high court has directed the NHRC to probe alleged police violence in Aligarh Muslim University during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), taken cognisance of “police atrocities” mentioned in two news reports, and registered another suo motu PIL on internet shutdowns in the state.
All three orders were passed by the same bench, comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Vivek Varma.
The orders come at a time when UP’s Yogi Adityanath government has warned that “revenge will be taken” against those who indulged in violence during anti-CAA protests.
And, on 24 December, the first set of notices was sent to 28 people, asking them to pay up a total of Rs 14.86 lakh in damages for the destruction of government properties. Several reports alleging police brutality and arbitrary arrests have also since surfaced.
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Situation ‘antithetical to core constitutional values’
The Allahabad High Court bench took suo motu cognisance of a letter written by Mumbai-based lawyer Ajay Kumar Tuesday.
In his letter, Kumar had referred to a news report published in The New York Times titled ‘As India violence gets worse, police are accused of abusing Muslims’ and another report published in The Telegraph titled ‘UP police accused of stripping cleric’.
“It appears from the two articles, that there is a concerted campaign by law enforcement to intimidate and prevent persons from assessing judicial remedies against the law enforcement machinery. Accordingly, persons with adequate locus to maintain actions against the law enforcement in Uttar Pradesh may not be able to access courts,” he wrote.
Such a situation, Kumar asserted, “is antithetical to core constitutional values” and hence, demanded intervention by the high court.
Kumar stated that an independent judicial inquiry be ordered into the allegations in the two articles. This inquiry, he said, should be chaired by a retired high court judge and assisted by a police force other than UP police.
He also sought a direction to the magistrates in the state to ensure that those detained are treated in accordance with law.
Taking note of this letter, the court appointed senior advocate S.F.A. Naqvi and advocate Ramesh Kumar as the amicus curiae. The matter will be heard next on 16 January.
Internet shutdown violates Article 21
In another order issued on 20 December, the high court took suo motu cognisance of the internet shutdowns in the state following the prohibitory orders issued under Section 144 CrPC over CAA protests.
The court was approached by a group of lawyers, appraising it of the difficulties being faced by them as well as the public at large due to the internet shutdown.
The same bench of the court had then asserted, “It is emphasised that in absence of Internet all day to day activities stands still. The right to have continuous Internet Service in the present era is an extension of the right to live and, as such, discontinuation of that is in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”
The court had observed that with internet being so crucial, “the administration must adopt some other mode and methods to meet with different eventualities pertaining to the law and order issues”.
Notice was then issued to the state government, asking for a response.
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NHRC probe into AMU violence
On Tuesday, the same division bench of the court directed the NHRC to investigate into the alleged police violence in AMU during the protests on 15 December.
The order was passed on a PIL filed by advocate Mohd Aman Khan, who demanded a judicial inquiry by a court-monitored committee against the arrest and beating up of students by the police and rapid action force during a protest.
In an earlier order passed on the same petition last month, the court had directed the district magistrate, Aligarh, to ensure that the injured students are provided with the necessary medical assistance.
Directing an NHRC probe, it now observed, “The facts of the instant case indicate alleged violation of human rights and also alleged negligence in the prevention of such violation…the photographs annexed with the petition reflect certain serious happenings which are termed by the petitioner as brutal, violation of human rights that also amounts to commission of cognizable crime. The narration of facts certainly demands a probe.”
The NHRC has been directed to complete the investigation within a month. The matter has been listed for 17 February.
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better late than never.