N-E Delhi riots: HC tears into Delhi Police for vigilance report on media leaks

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court while hearing a petition by Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha, arrested in a Delhi riots case, against the media trial against him, tore into the Delhi Police on Monday for a shoddy vigilance inquiry into how the documents in question were leaked and said it was worse than an inquiry conducted in a petty theft case.

Advocate Siddharth Agarwal appeared for Tanha during the hearing where he submitted that given the Delhi Police is saying it is not responsible for the leak and that the media house in question is unwilling to disclose its source, the only way forward was to conduct an independent inquiry.

Agarwal said, "Even a court of law will not be relying on this document but it has been put out there even before the first ball is played in a court of law," according to legal news website LiveLaw, which reported the hearing.

However, the Delhi Police invoked the wrath of the court when it said that the investigation reports (specifically the alleged "disclosure" that was leaked) were also sent to the Delhi government and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The court then told the police, being represented by advocate Amit Mahajan, "This vigilance enquiry is even worse than what they do in a petty theft case. These are not files sent through couriers, these are hand-held files. Mind you, these are senior IAS officials. Where did you do the enquiry, who did you enquire of? Where were the files sent? Who took them to GNCTD and MHA and who brought them back from there? These are not documents lying on the road. And amazingly, if these were lying on the road, the journalist is confident that these are those very original copies... The vigilance file doesn't even show who conducted this enquiry."

Justice Mukta Gupta, who was hearing the case, listed it for further hearing on March 5 and directed the Special Commissioner of Police (Vigilance) to be present during the hearing.

When the court was informed of the police officer responsible for conducting the inquiry, Justice Gupta went on to say, "You all had four months and yet the report you've filed would not even have taken 10 minutes. The report would've gone to the Commissioner of Police as well... The vigilance report says that it's unsubstantiated who leaked the documents. When the petitioner came to court, the allegations were very well substantiated, because the media person says they've got these reports. It's a matter of leakage of your file."

However, when the Delhi Police said it was equally aggrieved by the situation, the court said, "No, Mr Mahajan, it is not just undesirable. It is prejudicial to the accused, the case and the purity of the investigation. And this is in contempt."

But before adjourning the hearing in the case, the court went on to say it is possible that the leak may not have come from the Delhi Police but that the shoddy nature of the vigilance inquiry into it "really calls for a check".