Delhi CAA violence: SC to hear plea by Wajahat Habibullah, Bhim Army chief tomorrow

The Supreme Court Tuesday agreed to hear a petition filed by former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and others seeking lodging of FIRs over the recent violence in Delhi over the amended citizenship law. The hearing will take place tomorrow.

The plea was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench of Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph.

In the application, Wajahat Habibullah, Bhim Army chief Chandrasekhar Azad, and social activist Bahadur Abbas Naqvi have also sought a direction to authorities to ensure the safety of women sitting on protest against the CAA at Shaheen Bagh and other places in the national capital.

In an affidavit mentioned before the court, Habibullah said the question of the safety of women at Shaheen Bagh is crucial. "Any attempt to forcibly shift them from the present site would compromise their safety, especially in view of the abuses and threats that are regularly being meted out and hate speeches aired on social media and also in view of the various attacks that have taken place in different parts of the country on those protesting against the CAA, NPR, and NRC."

In the affidavit, he also mentioned that a number of roads that have "no connection" with the protest have been barricaded by the Delhi Police "unnecessarily, abdicating their responsibilities and duties and wrongly laying the blame on the protest." Habibullah had visited the protest site on February 19, as per the directions of the Delhi High Court.

The Supreme Court is hearing PILs against the Shaheen Bagh protest and the blockade of roads, saying this was causing difficulties for people in nearby areas. Expressing concern over the blockade, the court had deputed Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde and Advocate Sadhana Ramachandran to hold talks with them to find a solution. The court had allowed them to seek the assistance of Habibullah who, along with Bhim Army chief Chandrasekhar Azad, had sought to intervene in the matter.

(Inputs from The Indian Express)