2019 Jamia violence case: Delhi HC seeks police reply on Asif Iqbal Tanha’s plea
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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to the city police on a petition filed by student activist Asif Iqbal Tanha, who is challenging the framing of charges against him in connection with a 2019 rioting case related to protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB).
Justice Sanjeev Narula sought a response from the police and listed the matter for further hearing on October 13.
Tanha is one of the three accused, along with activist Sharjeel Imam and Jamia Millia Islamia student Chandan Kumar who have moved the High Court against a trial court order framing charges against them. The court is expected to hear all three pleas together on October 13.
The charges stem from an FIR filed over violent clashes that broke out during anti-CAB protests in New Friends Colony in 2019. According to the chargesheet, a mob of hundreds allegedly damaged and set ablaze 41 vehicles, including government vehicles and injured 10 police personnel, among them a Station House Officer (SHO) who suffered grievous injuries.
On May 7, the trial court observed that Sharjeel Imam was “not only an instigator, he was also one of the kingpins of a larger conspiracy to incite violence.”
Imam and Tanha face multiple charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including abetment, criminal conspiracy, rioting with deadly weapons, and unlawful assembly, as well as provisions under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
Out of the total accused, 14 individuals have been discharged, while charges have been formally framed against nine others.
