New Delhi [India], October 13 (ANI): The Delhi Police on Tuesday questioned the maintainability of a petition filed by an office-bearer of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) before the Delhi High Court, seeking an independent probe into alleged assaults on protesters and members of the public during demonstrations in Delhi on October 10 against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Appearing for the Delhi Police, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma that the petitioner had failed to comply with the Delhi High Court Public Interest Litigation (PIL) Rules, 2010, particularly Rules 9(f) and 9(g).
The ASG argued that the rules require petitioners associated with an organisation to disclose the nature of its functions. He submitted that the petitioner was an office-bearer of NSUI, the Congress’s student wing, but had not disclosed his association with the organisation in the petition.
Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the plea had been filed in his personal capacity and sought limited relief concerning allegations that unidentified persons had assaulted protesters.
The ASG, however, argued that the petitioner could not avoid disclosing his organisational association by stating that he had approached the court in his personal capacity.
The bench recorded the Delhi Police’s objection regarding the maintainability of the petition and noted the submission that the petitioner had not fulfilled the requirements under Rules 9(f) and 9(g) of the PIL Rules.
The court permitted the ASG to file an affidavit raising preliminary objections to the maintainability of the petition, along with any other issues, within three weeks.
The matter will be considered next on October 16. (ANI)
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