Probe without fear or influence: Delhi HC on Faizan death case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Delhi Police as to why it has not filed a charge-sheet in the case concerning the death of a 23-year-old man who was forced to sing the national anthem during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots and asked it to conduct its investigation without influence as per the law.

Justice Chandra Dhari Singh, who was hearing a petition by the deceased's mother seeking a speedy and proper investigation, said that the case was to be taken seriously and asked the investigating agency to take into account the suggestions by the petitioner in her plea.

The incident relates to a video that had gone viral in which the deceased — Faizan could be seen allegedly being beaten by policemen while being forced to sing the national anthem and 'Vande Mataram'. Kismatun, Faizan's mother, has approached the court.

The woman has claimed that the police illegally detained her son and denied him critical healthcare due to which he succumbed to the injuries on February 26, 2020.

The court had earlier noted that there were nearly 20 additional injuries inflicted upon the victim after he was taken into custody — as per the MLC report at the time of arrest and the post mortem report.

The DCP concerned told the court that the case involves technical evidence and that the investigation has zeroed down on a head constable making the video and not assaulting the victim and that no stone was being left unturned in the probe.

The judge, who remarked that there was no ground to disbelieve one of the highest officers in the police machinery, was further informed by Delhi Police lawyer Amit Prasad that while they have identified some people, confirmation was needed from all angles.

The court was informed that the agency will take eight more weeks to complete the probe.

At one point, when the DCP said that appropriate legal action will be taken in the matter, the court said "legal action" is a very mild word. "They are criminals and should be dealt with as per the provisions of law... The son of a mother has died. I'm not commenting on how and when (but) it has to be taken very seriously and dealt with as per the criminal law," it said.

"This court has no ground to disbelieve one of the highest-ranking officers... (I'm asking you to) without influence investigate the matter as per the mandate of the CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) and Delhi Police manual," the judge said.

Delhi Police said that the statements of the witnesses have been recorded and one of the surviving persons, who was with the deceased, has not alleged any violence and that the investigating agency was awaiting the outcome of certain other technical tests.

Lawyer Vrinda Grover, appearing for the petitioner, stated that no arrest was made in the case and the police earlier made a false statement concerning the status of CCTVs in the concerned police station and that the investigating agency was not probing the second scene of the crime i.e the police station and sought permission to file a response to the police status report.

The court asked the petitioner to raise objections after the charge-sheet is filed and asked her to have some faith in the investigating agency and asked the Delhi Police to carry out the investigation without any fear or influence. The matter will be heard next in May.