SC agrees to hear plea on Patiala court assault

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to give an urgent hearing on Wednesday to a plea seeking action against those involved in thrashing journalists and JNU students and teachers in the Patiala House court complex where a student union leader was to be produced.

The petition sought a direction to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Delhi Police to take all preventive action so that no such violence takes place either inside the court room or within the court complex as such type of activities in the court complex put the life of the accused in peril. Tuesday also saw hundreds of journalists take to the streets demanding action against those involved in the assault. The journalists, shouting slogans against the Modi Government and Delhi Police, marched from Press Club of India to the Supreme Court and submitted a memorandum to its, Registrar, seeking cancellation of licences of lawyers involved in the assualt. The protesters also demanded Police Commissioner B S Bassi’s sacking due to alleged inaction by the security personnel. 

The memorandum by the journalists was submitted to the apex court even as it agreed to hear a petition on Wednesday on a plea seeking action against those involved in the violence at Patiala House court complex. “We demand the intervention of the highest court of the land to take appropriate action against the advocates involved in the assault,” the memorandum said, urging the court to direct the bar council to cancel the licences of the errant advocates. No arrest has been made even 24 hours after the assault where Delhi BJP MLA OP Sharma was also seen beating up a CPI activist. A separate delegation of journalists met Home Minister Rajnath Singh demanding his intervention in ensuring “accountability of the Delhi Police who watched silently as the assault happened”. The journalists also said the CCTV footage of yesterday’s incident should be called for and police directed to ensure protection to journalists and other media persons. On Monday, around 40 lawyers had beaten up journalists and JNU students and teachers ahead of the hearing of the sedition case registered against JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar in connection with an event at the university last week to protest the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to give an urgent hearing on Wednesday to a plea seeking action against those involved in thrashing journalists and JNU students and teachers in the Patiala House court complex where a student union leader was to be produced.

The petition filed by N D Jaiprakash, an alumnus of JNU, who was hurt in the violence on Monday, sought action against the people involved in the violence and over “inaction” on the part of Delhi Police.

Tuesday also saw hundreds of journalists take to the streets demanding action against those involved in the assault. The journalists, shouting slogans against the Modi Government and Delhi Police, marched from Press Club of India to the Supreme Court and submitted a memorandum to its, Registrar, seeking cancellation of licences of lawyers involved in the assualt.

The protesters also demanded Police Commissioner B S Bassi’s sacking due to alleged inaction by the security personnel at the Patiala House Courts yesterday when journalists, students and teachers of JNU where attacked by people wearing lawyers’ black robes.

The memorandum by the journalists was submitted to Supreme Court even as it agreed to hear a petition on Wednesday on a plea seeking action against those involved in the violence at Patiala House court complex.

The petition sought a direction to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Delhi Police to take all preventive action so that no such violence takes place either inside the court room or within the court complex as such type of activities in the court complex put the life of the accused in peril.

“We demand the intervention of the highest court of the land to take appropriate action against the advocates involved in the assault,” the memorandum said, urging the court to direct the bar council to cancel the licences of the errant advocates.

No arrest has been made even 24 hours after the assault where Delhi BJP MLA OP Sharma was also seen beating up a CPI activist.

The journalists also said the CCTV footage of yesterday’s incident should be called for and police directed to ensure protection to journalists and other media persons.

On Monday, around 40 lawyers had beaten up journalists and JNU students and teachers ahead of the hearing of the sedition case registered against JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar in connection with an event at the university last week to protest the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.A separate delegation of journalists met Home Minister Rajnath Singh demanding his intervention in ensuring “accountability of the Delhi Police who watched silently as the assault happened”.