NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed an application filed by Jamia Millia Islamia seeking an FIR against Delhi Police officials for allegedly breaking into the campus without its permission and assaulting students and security guards during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in December 2019.
While dismissing the plea, Metropolitan Magistrate Rajat Goyal held that the acts allegedly committed by the police officials fell within the purview of the acts committed in discharge of official duties, and a requisite sanction was a must from the authorities concerned to prosecute them. “Thus, as per law down by the Supreme Court, existence of requisite sanction is a must even before jurisdiction could be exercised.. present application cannot be allowed for want of sanction,” the court said.
The application had sought registration of an FIR claiming that on December 15, 2019 police officials committed various atrocities, including ‘vandalising public/university property and unnecessary use of force against hapless students who were only exercising their democratic right to protest peacefully.’
The court said in its order that it was clear that some of the protests had become violent and that police were acting to control the said protests at the relevant point of time.
“Though it could be argued that while so acting, the police had allegedly exceeded their jurisdiction and used more force than necessary in some instances, it cannot be said, by any stretch of imagination, that the said acts allegedly committed by the respondents were wholly unconnected to their official duty. The judge said that “the lack of such restraint exhibited by the policeand excesses committed in trying to control the situation are very much related to official duties of the respondents.’’