The Delhi high court on Monday dismissed petitions seeking an independent probe into alleged police brutalities against students during the December 2019 violence at Jamia Millia Islamia. The court observed that police cannot be expected to remain “mute spectator” when a gathering turns violent.A bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain said the police did not enter the university premises at the outset when the assembly was peaceful, but intervened after the situation outside the campus escalated and the crowd moved into the university.“The police intervention, therefore, has to be viewed in the prevailing law and order situation which had developed at that time,” the court said.‘Police cannot be expected to remain inactive’The bench said the right to peaceful protest was not in dispute. Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution protect freedom of speech and expression and the right to assemble peacefully without arms, subject to reasonable restrictions.These rights do not, however, extend to causing any violence or destruction of property, it said.“Once a gathering ceases to remain peaceful and the circumstances disclose violence, commission of cognisable offences or a threat to life or property, the police cannot be expected to remain inactive or as mute spectator merely because the gathering is taking place within a university campus,” the court observed.The petitions sought an independent judicial inquiry into the violence, an investigation into alleged police excesses and compensation for injured students.“The events of December 2019 undoubtedly generated considerable public concern and gave rise to serious allegations regarding the conduct of various stakeholders,” the court said.The bench noted that protests on December 15, 2019, had escalated into violence around the university, including stone-pelting, burning of buses and other vehicles, damage to public property and attacks on police personnel.The high court also noted shortcomings in the police response, referring to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) inquiry, which found that the use of tear gas shells inside the university library could have been avoided.It said a university was a place of learning and academic activity, and this “crucial aspect” must be considered while exercising police powers.
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“That consideration cannot, however, be taken to mean that the police are prohibited from entering a university campus in all circumstances,” the court said.It added that university authorities should, wherever circumstances permit, be informed and consulted before police intervention. However, an immediate threat to life or property or a rapidly developing law-and-order situation may leave no time for prior communication or permission.The court noted that criminal cases had been registered, an investigation conducted by the Delhi Police Crime Branch’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), and charge sheets filed before competent courts. The NHRC had submitted its report in May 2020.“No subsequent incident or material has been brought to our notice to show that the violations of guidelines as alleged in these petitions have continued or have been repeated,” it said.
