The Allahabad high court on Tuesday issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on law and order situation in the state following violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and asked the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to conduct an inquiry into alleged police brutality against students of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The orders were issued by two separate benches of the high court.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice Govind Mathur on Tuesday, issued a notice to the state government alleging that the situation in Uttar Pradesh during the CAA protests was ‘antithetical to core Constitutional values’.
In the email addressed to the Chief Justice by one Ajay Kumar, an advocate of the Bombay High Court, references were made to news reports published in two international newspapers on law and order situation in UP and the action of the state against agitators during the protests.
Kumar had requested the court to conduct a judicial enquiry into the matter.
Chief Justice Mathur and justice Vivek Varma said, “We considered it appropriate to treat the letter as a petition for writ.”
Hearing another public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mohd Aman Khan of Allahabad, the same bench directed the NHRC to conduct an inquiry into alleged violence by police in the AMU campus within a month.
The court said, “The facts of the instant case indicate alleged violation of human rights and also alleged negligence in the prevention of such violation... ” “Looking to the powers of the Human Rights Commission, at this stage, we are not inclined to constitute any Special Investigating Team but to get the entire matter inquired by the National Human Rights Commission...”
{{/usCountry}}The court said, “The facts of the instant case indicate alleged violation of human rights and also alleged negligence in the prevention of such violation... ” “Looking to the powers of the Human Rights Commission, at this stage, we are not inclined to constitute any Special Investigating Team but to get the entire matter inquired by the National Human Rights Commission...”
{{/usCountry}}The petitioner had asked the court to pass several directions, including setting up of a ‘court monitored committee’ to conduct a judicial inquiry into acts of violence and arbitrary detention of students by the state police and para-military forces at AMU from December 12 to 15, 2019.