'On February 24, communal violence engulfed North East Delhi, leaving at least 53 people dead over the next three days, most of whom were Muslim. Exactly a month later, India went under a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Normal life came to a halt – but not Delhi Police’s investigation into the violence... But many lawyers and activists say the lockdown reduced scrutiny of the police investigation and impaired access to justice for those arrested.
'Of the scores of horrific video clips in circulation of the anti-Muslim violence that engulfed large parts of North East Delhi a month ago, one piece of mobile-phone footage has been indelibly seared into our collective memories. Even a country habituated to seeing Muslim victims of lynchings being filmed by their attackers was stunned at the sight of the assailants in this video – men in police uniform... A month later there has been no investigation, no explanations offered by police, leave alone starting an inquiry that would hold the assailants accountable.
'An international lawyers’ body has written a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind raising concerns over the “hasty decision” of the government to transfer Justice S Muralidhar from the Delhi High Court to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Justice Muralidhar was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the night of February 26, a day after he had pulled up Delhi Police for failing to register FIRs against three BJP leaders for allegedly giving hate speeches ahead of the communal riots in northeast Delhi.
'Despite the Karnataka High Court observing last week that it is unethical and illegal for lawyers to pass resolutions against representing anyone in court, a 19-year-old girl and three engineering students from Kashmir, who are accused in separate sedition cases, are facing an uphill task in getting legal representation... With no representation, Amulya’s bail plea was not taken up by the magistrate on Monday and a request for police custody also remained in limbo.
'The proceedings in the riots case in Delhi High Court offer a rich study on how the composition of bench can influence the result of a case, and can even produce diametrically different approaches. The petition filed by activist Harsh Mander seeking independent probe into Delhi riots and also registration of FIR on allegations of hate speeches by politicians was heard by a bench comprising Justices Dr S Muralidhar and Talwant Singh yesterday. Today, the case was considered by another bench comprising Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar.
'Three days after a gangrape case was registered in Bhadohi district against local BJP MLA Ravindranath Tripathi, his three sons and three nephews, the police on Saturday gave a clean chit to the MLA, two of his sons and two nephews, claiming that no evidence was found against them... However, the woman said on Saturday that she would “continue her fight”. “In the middle of the inquiry, the police have given them a clean chit… without hearing my side and completing the probe,” she said...'
'Nritya Gopal Das and Champat Rai Bansal, chairman and general secretary of the trust set up to oversee construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, are both accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Both Mr. Das and Mr. Bansal were on the dais from where several leaders had addressed ‘kar sevaks’ before the mosque was demolished, as per the CBI charge sheet in the case. Eight prominent leaders, including former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, had also shared the dais...'
'The Hubli Bar Association, has passed a resolution on Saturday, February 15, deciding that none of it's members would appear for the three students from Kashmir, arrested on Sedition charges, for allegedly raising Pakistan Zindabad slogans and posting the video on social media. The three accused, who are studying Engineering in a city college were arrested on Sunday and produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, the court remanded the accused charged for sedition, to judicial custody till March 2...'
'Kafeel Khan, the Uttar Pradesh doctor who was jailed after the death of over 60 children at a government hospital in 2017, has been charged under the tough National Security Act (NSA) for a speech against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA at a talk at the Aligarh Muslim University late last year. Dr Khan was granted bail on Monday after he was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police last month from the Mumbai airport following a First Information Report (FIR) against him. However, he was yet to be released from the Mauthura jail...'
'After spending 12 years incarcerated, the two men that Faheem Ansari was really keen to meet as he stepped out of Bareilly Central Jail last November were Shaheed Azmi and Hemant Karkare. He couldn’t, of course, as both of them had fallen prey to bullets while he was in prison. While Karkare, then head of the Mumbai Anti Terrorism Squad, was shot dead during the 2008 attack on the city, Shahid, a lawyer, was assassinated by unidentified men at his office in Kurla, Mumbai, on February 11, 2010. The assailants had come posing as prospective clients...'
