Karan Singh Chohan & Ors. v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Anr.

1. By this petition the petitioner sought setting up of a Special Investigating Team consisting of senior officers to investigate into the crucial lacks allegedly committed in the incident which took place on 21st February, 2017 in the Seminar Hall of Ramjas College. Grievance of the petitioner in this petition was that statements of victims were not being recorded and the CDs and video footages handed over by the petitioners were not being looked into.

2. A status report has been handed over by learned Standing Counsel for the State as per which the statements of four victims out of the five victims whose names were given on the last date of hearing by the petitioners stating that their statements have not been recorded, have been recorded and despite notices being issued Ms.Meghna Mehra did not join the investigation. 2019:DHC:2515 Learned counsel for petitioners states that Ms.Meghna Mehra will join the investigation with ACP Pankaj Singh and SI Priyanka tomorrow at 11:00 AM at their office at Sun Light Colony.

3. By this petition, the petitioners had sought the following prayers:- “a. Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction for the setting up of an SIT consisting of independent officers of integrity to do a Court monitored investigation and prosecution of all the persons engaging in the criminal acts as set out in this petition. b. Order directing this SIT to immediately arrest the persons as set out in the petition and the videos who are seen engaging in criminal acts and thereafter subject them to custodial interrogation. c. Issue an order directing the SIT to identify the colleges where the assailants are studying and thereafter to direct such colleges to suspend and thereafter rusticate these students in accordance with law. d. Issue an order directing the SIT to identify the assailants and the organisation behind the conspiracy whose members participated in the assaults and thereafter to direct the Govt. of NCT of Delhi to pay each victim of the assaults ₹5 lakhs, as well as ₹1 lakh for the destruction of the camera of Apurva Choudhary, with liberty to recover the amounts paid from the assailants. e. Issue an order directing the SIT to identify the police personnel who engaged in criminal acts including the criminally negligent act of not restraining the assailants and allowing them deliberately to carry out repeated attacks, during the incident and to suspend and thereafter to prosecute them in accordance with law. f. For an order directing an independent and upright officer as may be chosen by this Hon’ble Court to proceed against the policemen who were guilty of criminally negligent acts and other offences such as assaults, departmentally and to suspend and dismiss them from service in accordance with law. g. Pass such other order or orders as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances.”

4. After the present petition was filed this Court on 17th May, 2017 noted that a PIL seeking action in the matter was pending before the Division Bench pursuant whereto a Committee has been constituted comprising of the Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime; DCP, Vigilance; and DCP (Special Protection Unit, Women and Child-Lady Officer) and the Joint CP, Crime has been designated as Head of the Committee.

5. Pursuant to the status report filed in this Court on 22nd January, 2018, this Court noted that for the incident that occurred on 21st February, 2017, FIR No.28/2017 has already been registered and statements of 62 witnesses have been recorded. 25 MLCs were collected and unedited raw footages of the incident and five video footages obtained were sent to forensic lab. Further two CDs and one pen drive containing video footages provided by the local police of PS Maurice Nagar were also sent to forensic lab. A lawyer had also provided a CD which was also sent to forensic labs. The CD and photographs received from the complainant were also investigated and sent to FSL.

6. The CDs and video footages were duly collected by the investigating agency and sent to the FSL pursuant whereto a comprehensive report with regard to all the exhibits have been received. As per the status report filed today till now 95 witnesses including students, professors and police officers have been examined and their statements have been recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C. Total 25 MLCs including those of police officers, students etc. were collected from the hospital and in each of the MLC the nature of injury was simple caused by blunt object. CDs and video footages were not only collected from the local police and the petitioners but from various news channels, agencies, media etc. and all were sent to FSL. Report of the FSL has been received on 23rd March, 2018 out of which exhibits 3A, 3B, 3C and 4C were found to be unedited and there was no indication of alteration.

7. Exhibits 3A and 3B were recordings by the private photographer hired by the local police which show as under;- “Activists of AISA and ABVP are seen sloganeering and scuffling with each other and arguing with police personnel. They were seen trying to reach each other and obstructing police official when they were trying to stop them. Activists of ABVP were seen climbing on police bus and raising slogans. Students are also seen trying to obstruct/stop police persons. ABVP activists were seen forcibly entering into Ramjas College, while police personals were seen trying to stop them. Police persons by making a human chain could be seen between both the groups and trying to control the situation. Both the groups could be seen aggressively approaching towards each other and police were trying to stop them. ABVP activists were seen scuffling with AISA girl activists, who were separated by police personnels. ABVP activists were seen sloganeering inside the Ramjas College also. ABVP and AISA activists were seen sloganeering. There were scuffle between the students and police were trying to control the situation but, obstructed by both the group activists. ABVP activists were seen forcibly entering into Ramjas College, while police officials were seen trying to stop them, but they caused obstruction to the police personnel in performing their duties. There were scuffle between lady activists of ABVP and lady activists of AISA group, while women police officals and other police staff were seen trying to stop them, but were obstructed by the activists. A huge gathering of students raising slogans could be seen in the video footage.”

8. Ex.3C was the footages of CCTV camera installed in the police station Maurice Nagar in which police and public persons were seen entering the police station with no scuffling, sloganeering or quarrel.

9. Ex.4A, 4B and 4C were provided by the petitioner Karan Singh Chohan along with the petition. The result of FSL on the said exhibits is that 7 video files were available in Ex.4C out of which there was no indication of any alteration in video files 1 to 6 whereas video file number 7 contained post production edited version of a video footage. On examination of video files numbered as 1 to 6 showed as under:- “(a)Activists of AISA were seen sloganeering and in an altercation with police personnel. One identified female activist of ABVP was seen beating an identified female activist of AISA and police is trying to stop her. Then activists of ABVP are seen climbing on police bus and raising slogans. b) Both the groups were seen arguing with each other and raising slogans against each other and police were trying to defuse the situation. c) Both the groups were seen raising slogans and scuffling with each other. d) Activists of AISA were seen sloganeering and activists of ABVP were trying to chase them and were scuffling with police personnel, while they were being stopped by the police. e) Both the groups were appear aggressive and were raising slogans against each other and trying to reach each other and obstructing police officials, when they were being stopped by them. f) Multiple video shots in which AISA activists were seen raising slogans against ABVP.”

10. Learned Standing Counsel for the State submits that Ex.4A and 4B were found post production edited versions and hence no opinion could be given on the same.

11. Learned Standing Counsel for the State on instructions submits that based on the statement of witnesses Section 354 IPC has also been added to the cases and in view of the statements recorded and unedited video footage and photographs recovered the charge sheet will be filed within four weeks before the Court of competent jurisdiction.

12. Based on the analysis of the mirror images of the unedited video footages and statements of the witnesses, 22 individuals were identified to be involved in violence, sloganeering, unlawful assembly and obstruction of public servants. As noted above statements of four victims as mentioned by the petitioners out of 5 victims have already been recorded and directions have been issued to examine Ms.Meghna Mehra tomorrow. In view of the statement of learned Standing Counsel for the State that the investigation is on the verge of completion and charge sheet will be filed within four weeks no further orders are required to be passed in this petition.

13. Petition is disposed of.

JUDGE MAY 07, 2019 ‘mamta’