In a shocking sequel to the incidents of February 15 in the Patiala House courts complex, violence was unleashed barely moments before a hearing on sedition charges against JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar was to start at 2 p.m.
The Delhi Police again filled the role of a “silent spectator” as attackers defied the Supreme Court’s order for restricted entry to the trial court complex, bashed up Mr. Kumar en route to his court hearing and hurled the choicest abuse, gravel and a jagged end of a flowerpot piece at a six-member team of senior advocates, including Kapil Sibal, hand-picked by the Supreme Court to verify and report back on the ground situation in the court complex.
The morning saw a tense hearing during which politics and nationalist passions sidelined legal arguments before a Supreme Court Bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and A.M. Sapre.
The court was hearing a petition filed by JNU alumnus N.D. Jayaprakash, seeking “free and fair access to justice” to Mr. Kumar and condemning the February 15 violence on and outside the Patiala House premises.
The surcharged atmosphere in the Supreme Court hall shot up a few notches when a lawyer shouted Vande Mataram — a slogan which found an echo in the court complex later in the afternoon — from the rear as another asked the Bench if the expectation was to “keep quiet if somebody attacked our motherland.”
“We are all patriots here. If somebody attacked the motherland, do you take the law into your own hands? Moderation is a forgotten word in all spheres of life today,” Justice Chelameswar shot back.
The hearing ended with the Bench restricting entry to the trial courtroom only to lawyers appearing in the sedition case, five journalists, four immediate family members of Mr. Kumar or one JNU faculty member or student each — all certified by the Delhi High Court Registrar-General to be present.
Repeat of Monday’s violence
Wednesday saw a shocking sequel to the violence unleashed on February 15 in the Patiala House court complex barely moments before a judicial hearing on sedition charges against JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar was to start at 2 p.m.
On February 15, lack of seats for lawyers was said to be one of the reasons which led to verbal exchanges and altercations inside the court room before slipping into full-fledged violence.
But it took only a few minutes after the Supreme Court hearing for the Delhi Police’s assurances of calm to hit rock bottom. In a rewind of Monday, a group led by a man identified as Vikram Chauhan, who made the headlines for claiming to have organised the February 15 attack on innocent persons in the court complex, climbed the gate of the court complex and barged in, waving the national flag and shouting Vande Mataram. This was minutes before the trial court was to sit.
Magistrate Loveleen Singh, hearing the case, quickly ordered her courtroom to be locked from the inside. Lawyers, journalists and persons authorised by the Supreme Court were ushered into the judges’ chambers as attackers prowled the court complex armed with batons. Senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan, a member of the lawyers’ team, later described to the Bench the “tearful” condition of the Magistrate.
0 comments:
Post a Comment