Allahabad, Jan 7 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday asked the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate the allegations of police brutality on students of Aligarh Muslim University during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by one Mohammed Aman Khan of Allahabad, a division bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Vivek Varma directed the Commission to complete the process of inquiry expeditiously within one month.
While directing to list this PIL for further hearing on February 17, the bench also directed the NHRC to convey its findings and recommendations to the high court immediately after conclusion of the investigation.
"Looking to the powers of the Human Rights Commission, at this stage, we are not inclined to constitute any Special Investigating Team (SIT) but to get the entire matter inquired by the National Human Rights Commission," the bench said.
It said though an investigation could also be conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Human Rights Commission, the NHRC is already undertaking an inquiry relating to similar allegations by the students and some faculty members of the Jamia Milia Islamia University in Delhi.
The court directed the NHRC to treat the memo of the PIL as a complaint submitted to it for the purpose of investigation.
The PIL, alleging police brutality upon the students of AMU, sought that the court pass several directions including setting up of a court-monitored committee for a judicial inquiry into the alleged acts of violence and arbitrary detention of students by the state police and pare-military forces on campus from December 12, 2019 to December 15, 2019.
The petition alleged that on December 15, 2019 para-military forces and the state police, for no just and valid reason, lathi-charged the students along with firing massive amount of tear gas, rubber bullets and pellets.
The plea stated that AMU students had been peacefully protesting against the CAA.
"However, on December 15, students gathered at Maulana Azad Library and marched up to the university gate. On reaching the gate, the police deployed there started provoking the students but they did not respond. After sometime, police started firing tear gas shells on the students and also cane charged in which around 100 students were injured," it alleged.
On January 2, the Additional Advocate General appearing for the state government had filed a reply in the case and defended the police action.
The AAG had argued that the university gate was broken by the students and police entered campus on the request of the university administration to control the students, who had indulged in violence, and that no excessive force was used by police during the exercise.
