Delhi govt rejects police’s panel of lawyers in February riots case
nNEWDELHI: The Delhi government appeared headed for another flashpoint with the Lieutenant Governor on Tuesday after it rejected a panel of lawyers proposed by the Delhi Police in cases linked to the deadly communal riots in the Capital earlier this year, citing the need for a “free and fair” trial over the violence.
In February, 53 people died in communal riots triggered by violent clashes between the supporters and opponents of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA.
The decision to reject the lawyers’ panel backed by L-G Anil Baijal was taken at a meeting of the Delhi cabinet, chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The cabinet rejected the panel on the grounds that the courts have raised “serious questions” on the “fairness” of the riots investigation, the AAP government said in a statement. “The cabinet also observed that in such a situation a free and fair trial of these cases would not be possible by a panel of lawyers selected by the Delhi Police itself,” it said. It directed the home department to constitute an “impartial panel of the best possible lawyers in the country” to fight the cases.
Tuesday’s meeting was held on the direction of L-G Baijal, who, in a letter to Kejriwal on July 16, gave the Delhi government a week’s time to decide on the panel of lawyers it wanted to appoint to fight the cases.
NEW DELHI: Pollution levels in India shave off 5.2 years from the life expectancy of the average Indian and it most acutely hits people living in the Indo-gangetic plains, according to an assessment by the University of Chicago, which also showed that the situation had slightly improved between 2016 and 2018.
In 2018, Lucknow’s residents were exposed to an average annual PM 2.5 concentrations of 114.6 micrograms per cubic metre, which is likely to cut short life expectancy by 10.3 years. That makes Lucknow the most polluted district in India.
The average PM 2.5 concentration exposure in the National Capital Territory of Delhi was 106 micrograms, which can lead to loss of 9.4 life years.