Riots: HC asks police to submit July 8 order
Special CP had allegedly cautioned about ‘resentment’ among Hindus over arrests
The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the police to produce a copy of an alleged order issued on July 8 by Special CP (Crime and Economic Offences Wing) Praveer Ranjan to all investigating Officers and teams that are probing cases related to the northeast Delhi riots. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait gave the direction on a joint petition filed by two individuals whose family members died in the riots. ‘Illegal interference’ The petition contended that the July 8 order caused “illegal interference” in ongoing investigations with the intent of influencing the said investigations. The High Court, however, observed that the petitioners could have got a copy of the July 8 order through an RTI application before filing their petition, which is based on newspaper reports. The court also noted that no action can be taken based on newspaper reports. The joint petition filed through advocate Mehmood Pracha sought quashing of the July 8 order, claiming that “it gives a clear indication to all investigating teams to screen offenders if they belong to the Hindu community”. The petition quoted a news article in which the senior officer allegedly stated that there was a degree of resentment in the Hindu com
munity against the arrest of certain Hindu persons, while directing investigating officers that they should be careful in the future when making arrests. The petition stated that on July 15 the office of the Commissioner of Police tweeted a clarification to the news article, but does not deny that such an order was indeed passed by the Special CP. The plea quoted the clarification where the police said, “Tone and tenor of the article is highly misleading and seeks to give an impression of the police being biased”. “News item ignores the spirit of the order where it has been specifically stated that any arrest irrespective of any class, community or religious group be done on the basis of evidence and does not give an impression of being arbitrary,” the police had clarified.
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