The Delhi High Court Friday asked the police to file a status report on the alleged vandalism outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence earlier this week and said the "unruly crowd" sought to create an "element of fear" and the police force at the spot was "inadequate" and "outnumbered".
Hearing a petition by AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj concerning the incident, a bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla granted two weeks' time to Delhi Police to file its status report in sealed cover.
"Some took law into their hands. There is element of fear sought to be created. That is evident. The police force was inadequate...they did try to stop them but they were outnumbered," the court observed.
The court noted that a video of the incident showed an unruly crowd defacing the property and breaking the boom-barrier and "people tried to climb over the gate... (but) it appears that was not their intent".
"You tell us what you have done. There should be something before us," it said. Delhi Police, represented by Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, opposed the issuance of notice on the petition and told the court that the police has registered an FIR on its own in relation to the alleged attack and is taking all steps to address the safety concerns.
He added that all the evidence, including the CCTV footage from cameras around the chief minister's residence as well as the arterial roads towards it, would be preserved. "Delhi Police will set up a meeting with the CM secretariat. We don't know if they are feeling any apprehension," said Jain who claimed that instant petition was "misconceived".
He added that eight people have already been arrested in connection with the case and investigation is underway.
"The petitioner's prayer that SIT be constituted is predicated on the assumption that there is no FIR. FIR has been registered suo motu by Delhi Police. Investigation is on. Eight have been arrested. Can a petitioner within 24 hours of the incident come before court and... say you straightaway constitute an SIT as if no FIR has been registered," Jain stated.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the petitioner, urged the court to issue notice on the petition and pass a direction for the preservation of CCTV footage of the incident.
The senior lawyer emphasised that the chief minister of any state holds a constitutional position and if it was "any other functionary at the top", "mayhem would break and there would be heads to roll". "Just because he is the chief minister of Delhi, you can't belittle this position," Singhvi said.
Delhi Police is the last person which is expected to probe its own lapse, he added. Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, also appearing for the petitioner, objected to the registration of an "unnamed" FIR when there are videos to show the presence of a member of Parliament.
"This is too premature," stated the court which listed the case for further hearing on April 25. Mehra also argued that "Delhi Police was not doing charity" and "heads would roll" if a similar incident happened outside the Prime Minister's residence.
"(There was) 20 minutes blockade in Punjab and we know what happened," he remarked. Bhardwaj, in his petition through advocate Bharat Gupta, sought the constitution of an SIT to probe the alleged attack and argued that the vandalisation outside the official residence of the chief minister during a protest against his remarks on "The Kashmir Files" film appears to have been carried out with Delhi Police's tacit complicity.
"On March 30, 2022, several BJP goons, in the garb of a protest, launched an attack on the official residence of the Delhi CM. Videos and photographs show that these goons casually walked through the security cordon (maintained by Delhi Police), kicked and broke the boom barrier, broke the CCTVs cameras with lathis, threw paint on the gate of the residence and almost climbed over the gate, while Delhi Police personnel simply looked on, doing little to stop the protestors," the plea alleged. The MLA said while he strongly supports the right to protest peacefully, even if such protest is against the Delhi government, violence cannot and ought not to be permitted and condoned.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging it was a "conspiracy to kill" Kejriwal as the saffron party was unable to defeat the Aam Aadmi Party in elections. The BJP had accused AAP of scripting a drama and playing the "victim card".
The protestors, led by BJP Yuva Morcha's national president and MP Tejasvi Surya, were holding a demonstration against Kejriwal's remarks on the recently released controversial movie "The Kashmir Files", which is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley after the outbreak of militancy.
The chief minister's residence is located at 6, Flag Staff Road. The protest started around 11.30 am on March 30. The Delhi Police said proper arrangements were put in place but some 15-20 protestors managed to reach the Flag Staff road and were immediately removed.
Some of the protesters, around 1 PM, breached two barricades and reached outside Kejriwal's house where they created a ruckus and shouted slogans, the police had said.
