Delhi riots cases: No distinction between police and prosecutor, Govt tells HC

Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the AAP government, submitted that there is no distinction between the prosecution and investigation in these cases, because all the Special Public Prosecutors were chosen by the Delhi Police and appointed by the Lieutenant Governor

Trials in cases filed in connection with northeast Delhi riots that took place in February 2020 and the Republic Day farmers’ violence cases this year are a “mockery”, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government told the Delhi high court on Friday.

The court was hearing a plea by the Delhi government challenging the L-G’s July 23 order appointing lawyers chosen by Delhi Police as SPPs in cases related to violence during the farmers’ tractor rally on January 26 this year and the northeast Delhi riots cases of February 2020. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the AAP government, submitted that there is no distinction between the prosecution and investigation in these cases, because all the Special Public Prosecutors (SPPs) were chosen by the Delhi Police and appointed by the Lieutenant Governor (L-G).

“There is no difference between the police and prosecution today. The entire trial is a mockery. If the investigating agency is allowed to enter the domain of the prosecution, what is the fairness left in the entire criminal procedure? This is a basic principle,” Mehra told the bench comprising chief justice DN Patel and justice Jyoti Singh.

The court was hearing a plea by the Delhi government challenging the L-G’s July 23 order appointing lawyers chosen by Delhi Police as SPPs in cases related to violence during the farmers’ tractor rally on January 26 this year and the northeast Delhi riots cases of February 2020.

“The police obviously want that people should be tried and they should be punished, but a prosecutor is the officer of the court. He is not bloodthirsty. Prosecution’s only allegiance is to the truth and to the majesty of the court and today, with these orders, the prosecution and the investigating agency, there is complete synergy between them,” Mehra said.

He stated that the appointment of prosecutors was the government’s domain, and the L-G was supposed to be aided and advised of the council of ministers.

“The constitutional bench of the Supreme Court also said it is purely in the domain of the state government and L-G is bound by the aid and advice of the council of ministers. L-G has gone completely contrary to that and appointed prosecutors based on the suggestion of Delhi Police,” Mehra contended.

Highlighting that the matter is of “great urgency”, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, also appearing for the Delhi government, told the court that the respondents—L-G and Centre—were yet to file their responses.

“This is a matter of great urgency. The court gave four weeks to file counters. [It has been] more than nine weeks and no counter is filed. We are in grave urgency. This is an uncertainty that can be avoided,” Singhvi said, urging the court to close the respondents’ right to file counters if it is not done before the next date of hearing.

The court, however, granted more time to the Centre and L-G to file their responses and posted the matter for hearing on January 28, 2022.

AAP’s petition also challenged L-G’s July 26 notificationon the appointment of the SPPs as well as the Centre’s August 4 order endorsing the L-G’s view and approving the appointments.

The plea said that it is contrary to established legal principles and violates the Constitutional guarantee of a fair trial. It said the SPPs are taking charge of the matters by displacing the regular public prosecutors and, therefore, urgent directions are required from the court to enable them to continue so as to not jeopardise fair trial in the cases.

The Delhi government added that “appointment of SPPs is a routine matter and not an exceptional matter for which reference to the President can be made” and that the L-G had “no sound reason for referring the matter to the President when the government had agreed to appoint independent SPPs”.

As reported by HT on Friday, of the total 758 cases registered in connection with communal riots in northeast Delhi in February last year, the Delhi Police has completed the investigation and filed charge sheets only in 361 (42%) cases as of October 4, the Delhi high court was informed on Thursday. Even in cases where the charge sheet has been filed, the trial has begun in just over 67 cases (18%), Delhi Police told the court Thursday while submitting a status report in a batch of petitions related to last year’s violence.