The Supreme Court, while hearing the Petitions filed in connection with incidents of violent nuisance against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, said on Tuesday that the petitioners should first go to the respective High Courts. During the hearing, the apex court also asked how the buses were burnt during the protest in Delhi.
In the court, counsel for the student organization of Jamia Millia Islamia University had said that the Supreme Court should protect the right to peaceful protest. Senior advocate Indira Jaising said that several cases have been registered against the students of AMU, Jamia. To this, a bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said that an FIR should be lodged under the law for offenses such as damage to properties.
The court refused to consider the Jamia University Vice Chancellor's statement in the media. The Court stated that it would not rely on newspaper reports to arrive at any judicial conclusion. "We have conveyed our decision that the petitioners should first approach the High Courts to ascertain the facts in the protest cases," the bench said.
During the hearing, the court was told by the Central Government that no students were in jail. Ghalaya students were taken to the police hospital. The court then asked the central government why the protesters were not given any notice before arresting them. The top court also asked if the injured students were given medical aid. The court said that the High Court should constitute an appropriate committee for inquiry which includes retired judges of Supreme Court or High Court.
The court also heard a petition filed on behalf of advocate Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay. The petition was referred for immediate hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde. The bench said that we will look into the matter of violence. However, the court also said that what is happening in the country cannot consider them all under its jurisdiction. The petition has demanded that incidents of violence be investigated by the CIT under the supervision of the CBI or the court.
The court said that we cannot take jurisdiction of all the courts. Incidents and circumstances may vary everywhere. Such cases should first go to the High Court. According to news agency PTI, the apex court said that it is ready to consider the demand for a CBI or court-monitored SIT probe into the violence against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019.
On the demand for early hearing on violence in West Bengal, the Supreme Court said that we cannot take jurisdiction of all the courts. Incidents and circumstances may vary everywhere.
