‘Do not escalate DU row’
Court observes Ramjas incident was not an uprising When Mr Garg asked the IO whether the slogans were raised or not, the magistrate said, “It was an alleged incident. This isn’t a cross-examination.”
New Delhi, Sept. 14: Sloganeering by students at a city college in February this year was not for an “uprising”, a Delhi court said on Thursday, while asking a lawyer not to escalate the controversy surrounding a clash between student groups.
“Let us not escalate the ‘vivaad’ (controversy). It was not for any uprising,” metropolitan magistrate Abhilash Malhotra said, after advocate Vivek Garg argued that the police was delaying the investigation despite its report confirming the presence of a large number of students who, he alleged, were raising anti-national slogans.
The court also said that it would have to see whether the incident related to freedom of expression.
The court was hearing
Mr Garg's plea seeking a separate FIR into the alleged “anti-national” sloganeering by members of All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) at the Ramjas College in Delhi University (DU) on February 21 this year.
Commencing his arguments on sedition, the lawyer said that the offence was made out as hundreds of students came under the leadership of teachers and shouted slogans “Kashmir maange azaadi, Bastar maange azaadi”.
The court, however, said, “We have to see if this was a protest for freedom of expression. We need to consider what was the direct consequence leading to this situation. You are over-simplifying the argument.”
It also rejected the lawyer’s argument that it was a lapse on the part of the police and it was not investigating the matter. “We cannot say that delay by police was unnecessary as investigation in such cases takes time,” the court said.
Mr Garg claimed that the students raised slogans not against any government but the nation.
“It threatens the sovereignty and integrity of the country. After the incident, terrorist groups got motivated and it led to unrest in Jammu and Kashmir,” Mr Garg argued.
When he asked the investigation officer (IO) whether the slogans were raised or not, the magistrate said, “It was an alleged incident. Why do you (Mr Garg) need confirmation of the incident from the IO? This is not a cross-examination.”
Mr Garg then referred to the action taken report (ATR) of the police and said that as many as 100 students of the SFI, with several from the Jawaharlal Nehru University and various colleges, including Ramjas College, had raised slogans after the cancellation of the literary festival. The court posted the matter for further arguments on October 7.