Reputation will be hurt: Delhi Police argue in HC against cost for 'farcical' riots probe
New Delhi: Claiming that a separate FIR in a clubbed plaint of the north-east Delhi riots will "overburden the judicial system" and that imposing cost on police for a shoddy probe was "unwarranted" and would "cause serious dent to the reputation of the officers", the Delhi Police has moved the Delhi High Court challenging a lower court order, that had imposed cost on the police for a shoddy probe
The court had essentially upheld an earlier court's direction for a separate case on the complaint of Mohd Nasir, who lost an eye in the riots and also lambasted the investigation conducted in it, imposing a Rs 25,000 cost on the police for filing a revision petition against the order in the first place.
In its plea filed through Advocates Amit Mahajan and Rajat Nair, the police have claimed that both the Sessions as well as Magistrate court "has completely failed to take into consideration the mandatory provisions of Section 210 CrPC", which mandates upon the courts below to proceed further with a complaint case relating to the same offence once it is brought to the knowledge of the court that investigation in relation to the same offence is in progress.
The plea added that the Sessions court imposed costs on DCP(Northeast) without giving him the opportunity to make submissions. "Ld. ASJ has failed to appreciate that imposition of such cost was not only unwarranted but uncalled for as court has not found the petition vexatious and on the other hand imposition of such cost would seriously affect not only the career of the Govt. Officials but would certainly cause serious dent to the reputation of the officers," the plea said, adding that registering a separate FIR into Nasir's case will "overburden the judicial system".
Police further said that the court has failed to consider that Nasir's statement has already been recorded in a separate FIR and that a supplementary investigation is in progress. The plea added that the Sessions court has made references to the case diary in the matter which is a privileged document and shouldn't be revealed unless the trial has started in the case.
They claimed that the serious remarks made against the probe before the trial commences was contrary to law and that the court was only swayed away by the immaterial agony and pain of Nasir. Hence, police sought setting aside of both Sessions and Magistrate court orders. Earlier, the Sessions court had called the police probe into the case as "casual", "callous" and "farcical" and had imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000 on the area DCP. The court had called the investigation "shocking" and said that police were creating defence for the accused.
