VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday suspended GO No. 776, under which an FIR against some Muslim youth was withdrawn, on the ground that it was against the spirit of the Constitution.A division bench comprising Justice Rakesh Kumar and Justice J Uma Devi issued the orders while hearing a petition filed by an advocate, challenging the GO. The Muslim youth were booked for allegedly attacking the police at the Old Guntur police station on May 15, 2018. The petitioner sought a CBI probe into the incident.
The bench expressed dismay over identifying the youth by their religion in the government order. “We are living in a secular country,” it stressed and questioned how this could be done for political gain. The government advocate submitted that the GO went by the FIR and recalled that a group of youth went to the old police station after a youngster was apprehended on allegations of molesting a minor girl. Interjecting, the petitioner’s lawyer said the mob had not only attacked the police station but also destroyed a police van. “It was the police themselves who filed the complaint (against the youth),” he explained.
After hearing arguments of both the sides, the bench issued notices to Principal Secretary (Home), DGP, Guntur SP and Old Guntur PS SHO. It also directed the petitioner to make the CBI and NIA respondents, and deferred hearing to October 1.