Riots: Court asks LG to act against prosecutor missing case hearings

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has directed the Lieutenant Governor (LG) to take appropriate action against the special public prosecutor (SPP) for not appearing during the hearing of some northeast Delhi riots cases.

The court noted that all its earlier directions to higher officials, including the police commissioner, regarding the nonrepresentation of the state, have fallen on deaf ears.

On September 29, chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) Arun Kumar Garg noted that when one of the cases — FIR 104/2020 — was listed for arguments on charges, the state sought an adjournment on the ground that the SPP was not in the country. This irked the court, which recorded that the SPP had last appeared in court on November 28, 2020 and thereafter only on August 13 this year for the case pertaining to rioting, unlawful assembly etc. in the Dayalpur area.

The judge noted that the court had issued repeated directions to the deputy commissioner of police (N-E) as well as the commissioner of police, Delhi, to ensure the presence of the SPPS at every hearing so that proceedings are not stalled.

It said that officials had also been directed to depute a substitute SPP in unavoidable cases.

“However, all the directions have fallen deaf ears...i deem it appropriate to bring the aforesaid fact to the notice of the lieutenant governor of Delhi with a request to him to take appropriate action so as to ensure that the State is properly represented in all the riots cases before this court on each and every date fixed in the matters,” the judge said in his order.

Delhi Police did not comment on the matter. Of late, the roles of Delhi Police and the SPPS have come under the courts’ scanner, prompting Delhi Police commissioner Rakesh Asthana to form a special investigation cell (SIC) to monitor the progress of the riots cases.

On September 29, the judge also directed the DCP (N-E) to provide “coloured photographs and CCTV footage to all the accused in all the matters pertaining to N-E riots pending before this court...within three days”, noting that the prosecution is not supplying it without specific directions from the court, which in turn delays committal/trial of the cases.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, the court sought an explanation from the investigating officer for dropping Indian Penal Code section 436 (arson) from the supplementary charge sheet after cognizance had already been taken.