Delhi HC Bench transfers all Jamia violence matters to another Bench

The Bench headed by the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court on Friday, October 28, transferred a number of petitions to another Bench, relating to the violence in Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University on December 15, 2019. The Bench transferred all the alleged Jamia violence matters to another Bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul.

The Bench transferred the concern matters after noting that the Bench headed by Justice Mridul is already examining a number of petitions related to North East Delhi Violence. The matters are deferred to November 28, 2022, as stated in a report by ANI.

Meanwhile, a lawyer who appeared for Delhi Police also informed the court that the Additional Solicitor General, who is leading the matters, is also unavailable today. Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves appeared for the petitioner side and Advocate Rajat Nair appeared for Centre Government (Delhi Police) in the matter.

Details about the petitions

Last week, the Supreme Court requested the Delhi High Court to give an early hearing to the plea, after the petitioner's lawyer submitted to the Supreme Court that the matter is pending before the Delhi High Court for years. The high court was hearing a batch of petitions, including one filed by lawyer Nabila Hasan through advocates Sneha Mukherjee and Siddharth Seem seeking action against cops over Jamia violence.

The petitioners blamed the forces for using extreme, ruthless and excessive physical force and violence against unarmed and peaceful students. The plea also raised questions over the use of "extreme" measures such as tear gas shells, chilli-based explosives and rubber bullets against the protesters. Several protesters and policemen sustained injuries during a protest against the new citizenship law near the Jamia Millia Islamia University campus on December 15, 2019. Some public transport vehicles were set on fire and other public properties were damaged in the protest, as per ANI.