Court rejects plea for another FIR in Ramjas college incident

A Delhi court today rejected a plea to direct the police to lodge another FIR on an incident of alleged anti-national sloganeering at the Ramjas College here by some students' groups in February this year.
It also made sharp observations over a video footage of the alleged incident produced in the court, saying the complainant had relied upon an "unauthenticated audio-video footage" obtained from the social media.
Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra said there was already an FIR into the incident and there was no need for "duplication".
He also refused to direct the police to add the charge of sedition in the existing FIR in the case as sought by the complainant.

"Arguments heard. Record perused...Serious allegations of seditious sloganeering by unknown persons have been made. Complaint is relying upon an unauthenticated audio-video footage stated to be obtained by him from social media wherein the alleged seditious slogans have been recorded.
"The fact that authenticity of the audio-video footage in question is not clear and it is obtained from unknown social media sources, is admitted by complainant as well as in action taken report," the magistrate said while dismissing the plea of advocate Vivek Garg.

The Ramjas college case involved the slogan-shouting and a clash between students owing allegiance to the ABVP and Left student bodies like AISA and SFI.

On February 21, members of the RSS student wing ABVP had gathered outside the college and shouted slogans in protest against a seminar for which JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid were invited.
The court noted that during the arguments it was informed that raw footages of the incident have been obtained and sent for forensic scrutiny.
"In these peculiar circumstances, when the authenticity of the audio-video footage is doubtful, its sources unknown and the complainant himself is unable to vouch for its credibility, it will be premature to issue any direction for addition of sedition charges," the court said.

It, however, said the probe agency is at liberty to adopt appropriate course of action in case sufficient and concrete evidence surfaces regarding charges of sedition, noting that the investigation in the matter was going on, witnesses were being examined and the FSL results were awaited.
"Accordingly, as an FIR is already registered and investigation is already continuing in respect of the allegations made by complainant and as well as other persons. Therefore, no purpose will be served by the registration of a separate FIR.
"It will lead to unproductive exercise of duplicating the proceedings. Accordingly, the application under section 156(3) CrPC is dismissed being infructuous," the court said.

The court noted that as per the action taken report of the police, an enquiry committee comprising Joint Commissioner of Police and two Deputy Commissioners of Police, was already examining witnesses and appreciating evidence.
It further said that an FIR has already been registered at Maurice Nagar police station under various sections of the IPC including obstructing public servant in discharge of duty, rioting, unlawful assembly and assaulting public servant.
"From the facts it is clear that incidents of February 21 and 22 are interconnected and no purpose will be served by duplicating FIRs, especially when the police is admittedly investigating the incidents in another FIR," it said.

The court had earlier warned Garg against mixing this incident with the JNU case in which sedition charge was slapped against some students. In February 2016, JNU had hogged the limelight after the arrest of its student leaders, including then JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar.
In the Ramjas college incident, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members allegedly pelted stones, vandalised the venue and disrupted the seminar.
The next day violent clashes had broken out between the students of All India Students Association (AISA) and Students Federation of India (SFI) and the ABVP students, which left several of them and three teachers injured.

The police had on August 3 submitted an action taken report in the matter saying it was examining students and teachers to identify the culprits involved in the clashes.
In the report, the police had said they had lodged an FIR at the Maurice Nagar police station on February 22 for the alleged offences or rioting and obstruction, causing hurt and assault to deter public servant from discharging duty.