Ramjas College clashes: Court dismisses police's transfer plea

A Delhi court has dismissed a plea filed by the police seeking to transfer to another court a complaint to lodge an FIR in the Ramjas College incident in which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Satish Kumar Arora rejected the transfer application of Delhi Police Crime Branch after the investigating officer failed to appear in the court for the second time.

The matter would come up for further proceedings on July 19 before Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra, who has been hearing it. The police filed the transfer application saying the power to deal with the cases of Delhi Police Crime Branch was vested with the CMM and the magistrate had no jurisdiction to try the matter.

It is pertinent to mention that after the filing of the complaint by advocate Vivek Garg, the CMM had marked it to the court of magistrate Malhotra. Complainant Garg opposed the police's plea saying it has been delaying the matter and hesitating to file a proper action taken report as it was not willing to probe the incidents. During the hearing of the complaint before the magistrate, the police had earlier said the Commissioner of Delhi Police has constituted an enquiry committee which has been probing complaints relating to the incidents of February 21-22 this year and has so far examined 62 witnesses, including student groups and police officials.

Garg has filed the complaint seeking lodging of an FIR into the incidents during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised at Ramjas College by members of students groups AISA and SFI. Maintaining that a similar incident had taken place in JNU last year, the plea alleged that "massive anti-national slogans/activities were being carried out by leaders/students of AISA/SFI in Ramjas College, shamelessly and openly which supported India's enemy i.e. Pakistan. The criminal acts of accused were also boosting morale of terrorists against our country."

It has claimed that the organisers of the seminar had misled the college administration to obtain its nod for the event and "conducted activities against the nation and tried to wage a war against the country". It has sought lodging of an FIR for the alleged offences of sedition, criminal conspiracy, waging war against the State and defamation under the IPC.

On February 21, members of RSS student wing ABVP had gathered outside the college and shouted slogans in protest against a seminar for which JNU students Omar Khalid and Shehla Rashid were invited. The ABVP members allegedly pelted stones, vandalised the venue and disrupted the seminar.

The next day violent clashes erupted between Left and ABVP students leaving several students and three teachers injured.