Delhi HC junks plea for court-monitored probe in Red Fort blast case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition seeking a court-monitored committee to supervise all stages of trial in the Red Fort blast case.

The court said the trial in the case has not yet started, and the issue raised in the petition pertained only to apprehension, and it cannot be assumed that there will be a delay in the trial.

“It is a good piece of essay and not writ petition. You have to differentiate between a writ petition and a piece of research paper. We are not sitting here to entertain your ideas and suggestions,” said a Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.

“We are sitting here to entertain a petition where you are able to show infringement of any of your fundamental rights or constitutional provisions or any other legally enforceable rights,” the Bench added.

Petitioner Dr. Pankaj Pushkar sought a day-to-day trial in the case and a direction to the probe agency to file monthly status reports before the court-appointed oversight committee. The petitioner’s counsel later urged the court to allow him to withdraw his petition.

The petitioner said he needed “some assurance” from the court that the trial would not be delayed. He referred to the delay in various terror cases.

To this, the court said the trial will conclude only when it commences, and here that stage has not yet come.

During the hearing, the Additional Solicitor General, representing the Centre, said the Red Fort blast case is no longer with the Delhi Police but has been transferred to the National Investigation Agency.

The blast took place in a car near the Red Fort on November 10, which claimed 15 lives.