Allahabad HC Seeks Reply From UP Govt. & AMU Admin On Alleged Police Brutality Against Aligarh Students[Read Order]

The Petitioner, Mohd. Aman Khan seeks judicial inquiry by a 'Court Monitored Committee' against the acts of police brutality, whereby several students have been injured and detained arbitrarily.

The plea alleges that on December 15, the Para Military Force and the State Police for no just and valid reasons charged Lathi with massive amount of firing of Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets and Pellets on the students of AMU. Nonetheless, no adequate medical assistance has been provided to such injured students and the situation continues to worsen.

Looking into the urgency of the matter, the bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Vivek Varma directed the District Magistrate, Aligarh to ensure that all necessary medical assistance and aid is provided to the students and persons said to be injured in the alleged incident. Directions have also been made to provide assistance to any person who may sustain injuries on the campus of Aligarh Muslim University in the future, during the protests.

On December 11, 2019, the Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 to alleviate the naturalization process for non-Muslim migrants, i.e., Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Escalation of peaceful protests against the implementation of the Act, which commenced at JMI and AMU on Sunday afternoon led to excessive use of force on behalf of the Police. Forceful entry into the university premises and the use of teargas shells as well as lathi-charge by the police has led to a huge furore across the country. Multiple students were detained for a few hours with no access to medical or legal aid. In response to the same, students from various universities have taken to the streets to protest against and condemn the brutal police action on unarmed students.

Interestingly, the Petitioner has also alleged that the forces entered into Guest House Nos. 2 & 3 of the University, where the students were hiding. A record of such break-in was apparently recorded in the CCTV cameras, which has been alleged to be destroyed by the forces.

"An apprehension has been made for tampering with as well as weeding out of the evidence of the incident taken place in the campus of Aligarh Muslim University," the bench recorded.

The matter will now be taken up on January 2, 2020.

In Delhi, multiple petitions have been filed seeking a judicial enquiry against the alleged acts of violence committed by Delhi Police against the students of Jamia Millia Islamia University. On Thursday, the Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Hari Shankar issued notices to the Central Government, Delhi Government and Delhi Police, seeking their replies.

Case Details:

Case Title: Mohd. Aman Khan v. Union of India & Ors.

Case No.: W.P. No. 26085/2019

Quorum: Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Vivek Varma

Appearance: Advocate Maha Prasad (for Petitioner); Govt. Advocate Shashank Shekhar Singh (for Respondent)

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