[Vandalism outside Arvind Kejriwal residence] We want to know that you are taking it seriously: Delhi High Court to Police

The Delhi High Court on Friday called for a status report on the recent vandalism that took place outside the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal [Saurabh Bharadwaj v. Delhi Police, Through Its Commissioner and Anr]..A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla allowed the Delhi Police to file the status report on the incident in a sealed cover, within two weeks.During the hearing, the Bench observed,"We also find that police force is inadequate. Therefore, whosoever was there from Police, it appears they tried to stop them but they were outnumbered. So you will have to explain what was your bandobast.".On Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain's submission that it will send a wrong message if the Court monitored the incident, the Court said,"If you feel so sensitive to notice being issued, we will say you appear on advance notice. We want to be satisfied that you are taking matter seriously.".The Court was hearing with a petition filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) inquiry into the vandalism that recently took place outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's house..At the outset of the hearing, ASG Jain, appearing for the Central government, told the Court that a discussion has been held between the Home Ministry and the Delhi Police to address the security threat. He also opposed the issuance of notice in the matter.Appearing for Bhardwaj, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the Court,"They have broken the gate and entered. Kindly reverse this scene for any other functionary. My lords, mayhem would break and there would be heads to roll and my learned friends says he will even oppose the notice."He went on to add,"In a situation like this, we have only the constitutional courts to turn to. What is astonishing is that this person (BJP MP Tejasvi Surya) enjoys Z+ security.".Just because he is the CM of Delhi, you cannot belittle the position and authority. Delhi Police is the last entity to probe with objectivity its own lapses. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi.ASG Jain then claimed that the petitioner was a political person and that his plea has been filed as a publicity exercise. "It was all over the press before it reached the court. It proceeds on a false presumption that FIR is not registered," he argued.He added that an FIR had been registered by the Delhi Police and that a meeting would be set up with the Chief Minister's Secretariat to assess the incident.Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra, making submissions for Bhardwaj then said,"Delhi Police is not doing any charity. They say they will sit down with Secretariat. If something were to happen outside PMO, will they sit down? There was 20 minute blockade in Punjab. What happened there?".After hearing the parties, the Bench proceeded to order,"ASG submits that in light of the fact that FIR stands registered and R-1 has already taken action and proposes to take further steps, before issuing notice, an opportunity be granted to submit status report in sealed cover."It also called for the CCTV footage of the incident in question to be preserved.The matter is now listed for April 25..According to Delhi Police’s tweets on Wednesday, the protests by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) members were reportedly in relation to a recent statement by Kejriwal on the movie "The Kashmir Files". As per reports, a boom barrier and CCTV camera were broken in the incident and the main gate was rammed into before being sprayed with red paint.As a precautionary measure, the Delhi Police claimed to have barricaded the area and even used water cannons to disperse the protesting crowd.“They were removed after information was received,” said one of the tweets from Delhi Police’s official Twitter handle.However, Bharadwaj in his plea alleged,“Those who were charged with protection of the Delhi CM, i.e., Delhi Police, completely abdicated their duty, without any regard for the fact that they were protecting an elected constitutional functionary and the fact that he was given Z+ security by Delhi Police itself.”Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on Wednesday tweeted that "Anti-social elements have broken CCTV cameras and security barriers by attacking Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.".The MLA, in the plea, claimed that "Delhi Police was hand in glove with the goons as the goons are members of the ruling party in the Central Government, which has absolute control over Delhi Police through the Ministry of Home Affairs.”The plea, thus, urged for the constitution an SIT headed by a retired judge of the Delhi High Court for an independent, fair and time-bound criminal investigation into the “attack, including the role of Delhi Police’s officers who were responsible for maintaining the security cordon outside the Delhi CM’s residence”.“Directions for appropriate prosecution/action against the identified accused persons/culprits and direction to the respondents (Delhi Police and Union of India) to ensure appropriate security of the Chief Minister of Delhi’s person and his residence in future,” the plea added..[Vandalism outside Arvind Kejriwal house] AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj moves Delhi High Court seeking SIT probe

[Vandalism outside Arvind Kejriwal residence] We want to know that you are taking it seriously: Delhi High Court to Police

Prashant Jha

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