New Delhi: Delhi High Court Monday dismissed a batch of eight petitions seeking an SIT probe into the 2019 violence at Jamia Millia Islamia during anti-CAA protests, holding that police cannot remain a “mute spectator” when a gathering turns violent, even if it is taking place inside a university campus.
Rejecting the demand for a probe into alleged police excesses, the court said police action had to be assessed in the context of the prevailing law-and-order situation on Dec 15, 2019. Because an incident occurs within an educational institution, a bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Manoj Jain observed that police intervention cannot be ruled out merely.
“Once a gathering ceases to remain peaceful and the circumstances disclose violence, commission of cognisable offences or a threat to life or property, police cannot be expected to remain inactive or as a mute spectator merely because the gathering is taking place within a university campus,” the court said. Dealing with petitions filed over six years ago, HC said a university’s status as a place of learning and academic activity was a relevant consideration, but it did not create a blanket prohibition on police entry. “Where the situation requires immediate intervention, police cannot be expected to remain outside merely because the premises belong to an educational institution,” the bench observed. The court noted that the protests had “escalated into violence” in and around the university and were not confined to the campus. Referring to incidents of stone-pelting, arson, damage to public property and attacks on police personnel, the court said the police intervention must be viewed against the backdrop of those developments. The court, however, said the Model Police Manual contemplates informing the head of an educational institution, as far as possible, before entering the premises.