From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: Former Supreme Court and High Court judges and senior lawyers have written to the supreme court chief justice to take suo moto cognizance of bulldozing of residences and alleged police violence on protesters in police custody for protests by Muslims in Uttar Pradesh against remarks made by BJP spokespersons on the Prophet Mohammed.
In the letter petition to CJI N V Ramana, they said the state administration of UP “sanctioned violence” against the protesters holding peaceful protests instead of giving an opportunity to be heard.
Those signing the petition include former Supreme Court judges Justices B Sudarshan Reddy, V Gopala Gowda, A K Ganguly, Justice A P Shah, former chief Justice of Delhi High Court, former judge Justice K Chandru of Madras High Court, former judge Justice Mohammed Anwar of Karnataka High Court and senior advocates Shanti Bhushan (ex-Union law minister), Indira Jai Singh, Chander Uday Singh, Sriram Panchu, Anand Grover, and advocate Prashant Bhushan.
In a related development, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind on Monday moved the Supreme Court to ensure no further demolitions are carried out in Uttar Pradesh without following due process.
“The Chief Minister has reportedly officially exhorted officials to take such action against those guilty that it sets an example so that no one commits a crime and takes law into their hands in futures and directed to invoke the National Security Act, 1980, and the UP Gangsters and Anti-social Activities (prevention) act, 1986, against those found guilty of unlawful protests. These remarks have emboldened the police to brutality and unlawful torture of the protesters,” says the letter petition.
It said the UP Police had arrested more than 300 persons and registered FIRs against them. It referred to various videos showing young men in police custody being beaten up with lathis, houses of protesters being demolished without notice and protesters from the minority Muslim community are being chased and beaten up by the police.
“Such a brutal clampdown by a ruling administration is an unacceptable subversion of the rule of law and a violation of the rights of citizens and makes a mockery of the Constitution and fundamental rights guaranteed by the state. The coordinated manner in which the police and development authorities have acted lead to the clear conclusion that demolitions are a form of collective extra-judicial punishment, attributable to a state policy, which is illegal,” reads the letter petition.
Stating that the Apex Court had taken suo motu actions recently on the issues of migrant workers and Pegasus case, the letter urges the Supreme Court to take suo motu action to arrest the deteriorating law and order situation in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
