The Supreme Court of India has given a final opportunity to the Uttar Pradesh government to withdraw the proceedings against the alleged anti-CAA protestors of the December 2019 incident saying that it was in complete violation of the law laid down by it. The apex court said that if the government fails to withdraw it, the court will quash the proceedings. The court said that the UP government had appointed ADMs to oversee the claim tribunals instead of judicial officers. The top court had delivered two judgments in 2009 and 2018 related to it. The top court said that the proceedings were contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court and cannot be sustained.
Appearing for the UP government, Additional Advocate General Garima Prashad said that the police registered 106 FIRs against 833 rioters in the State and 274 recovery notices were issued against them. “Out of the 274 notices, recovery orders were passed in 236 while 38 cases were closed,” she said. Prashad added that under the new law notified in 2020, claim tribunals have been constituted which is being headed by retired district judges, and earlier it was headed by Additional District Magistrates (ADMs). The government submitted before the court that 451 policemen were injured during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests and parallel criminal proceedings and recovery proceedings were conducted.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant said that the Uttar Pradesh government has acted like a ‘complainant, adjudicator and prosecutor’ by itself in conducting the proceedings to attach the properties of the accused.
The Supreme Court was hearing a plea filed by one Parwaiz Arif Titu seeking quashing of notices sent to alleged protestors by the district administration for recovering losses caused by damage to public properties during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) agitations in Uttar Pradesh and asked the state to respond to it. The plea has alleged that such notices have been sent arbitrarily against a person, who had died six years ago at the age of 94 and also to several others including two people who are aged above 90.
The bench gave the UP government time till February 18 to act upon the suggestion. The PTI reported that the top court had asked the UP government, on July 9 last year, not to take action on earlier notices sent to the alleged protestors by the district administration for recovering losses caused by damage to public property during the anti-CAA agitations in the state.