Delhi court seeks report on ‘custodial torture’ charges by protesters

A Delhi court has granted bail to 17 students and journalists who were taken into police custody on Monday and sought a report from Delhi Police on allegations of “custodial torture” levelled by two protesters.

Judicial Magistrate Animesh Kumar of the Patiala House Courts issued four separate bail orders on Monday night. The arrested persons were protesting outside the Parliament Street police station earlier in the day, demanding registration of an FIR against a police officer accused of molesting a woman journalist during a protest in the national capital against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Unlawful assembly

Delhi Police had registered a case against the 17 accused, alleging that they were part of an unlawful assembly, obstructed a public area, roughed up police personnel and caused damage to public property.

Acknowledging the gravity of the allegations, the court pointed out that while any person has the right to protest peacefully, assaulting police officers on duty is a matter of serious concern which cannot be permitted under the garb of peaceful protest.

In its order, the court said, “It should be noted that allegations against the accused are serious in nature. One police official has allegedly sustained injuries as per the medico-legal case (MLC) produced by the IO.”

It, however, took into account the age of the accused. The judge said the allegations against the accused were “serious” in nature but they were not “habitual offenders”. The counsel for the accused had argued that some of the arrested persons had sustained injuries.

CCTV footage

“However, their medico-legal cases were not conducted immediately after the incident,” the court noted. It added, “Since the accused Dharmender and Samarth have levelled allegations regarding custodial torture, let a report be called from DCP New Delhi regarding the same. The relevant CCTV footage of the Parliament Street police station be preserved.”

The judge cited that their careers were still ahead of them and, hence, bail was justified on the facts of the case.

The police had sought 14 days of judicial custody for the arrested persons. It also argued that they might commit further offences or tamper with the investigation.