Top cop put on notice for Patiala House ‘crawl act’

The Delhi high court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Delhi police commissioner on a plea to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against an additional DCP who made a constable crawl on the ground in Patiala House Courts on Tuesday allegedly for not saluting him.

The Delhi high court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Delhi police commissioner on a plea to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against an additional DCP who made a
constable crawl on the ground in Patiala House Courts on Tuesday allegedly for not saluting him.

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The constable, Dinesh Kumar, was said to be talking on his mobile phone while on duty near a gate of the court premises.

Taking cognisance of the “shocking and inhuman” incident, a bench of acting chief justice AK Sikri and justice RS Endlaw also issued a notice to the errant DCP Seju
P Kuruvila asking why he should not be booked for criminal contempt. Replies have been sought by February 15.

The police chief has also been asked to probe into the incident and file a status report before the court.

Meanwhile the Delhi Police has ordered an enquiry into the incident. “Joint commissioner (crime) Sandeep Goel has been assigned the probe,” said Rajan Bhagat, spokesperson, Delhi Police.

The court order came on a petition filed by lawyer RK Saini, who demanded contempt action against the DCP for his action that “scandalised the court and brought the institution to disrepute”.

Justice Sikri was earlier disinclined to entertain the plea as the district judge had already taken cognisance of the issue and also as the incident had not happened inside a courtroom. But Saini submitted four earlier cases in which various courts of the country had initiated contempt proceedings against people for acts committed outside courtrooms, but within the court precincts.

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