Kapil Sibal Contributes Rs 1 Crore For CJP's Legal Aid Fund For Student Protesters Facing FIRs
Sibal appealed to the legal fraternity to extend legal aid to the students who are facing criminal proceedings over their participation in the protests.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal today announced that he has contributed Rs. 1 crore to the fund established by the Cockroach Janta Party(CJP) to extend legal aid to the protestors arrested by the Delhi police during last week's Jantar Mantar student protests over the exam paper leak issue.
It may be recalled that the CJI had called off the protest on July 25 after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as the Union Education Minister. Subsequently, the CJP's spokesperson had disclosed that during negotiation talks with the government, they demanded withdrawal of all FIRs registered against students and protestors and that no punitive action should be taken against them.
In a press conference today, CJP Spokesperson Saurav Das said that there was credible apprehension of criminal cases being lodged against students across the country despite the assurance given by the Union Government.
Das said that the CJP has been in touch with the senior advocate to address the adverse situation where legal aid may need to be extended to the affected persons.
Responding, Sibal stated that he had agreed to extend legal help and announced that the CJP will create a website laying down details of those students who have been adversely affected as a consequence of FIRs being lodged against them. Additionally, the website would allow lawyers who want to extend aid, pro bono or otherwise, to join.
He said: "I have said wherever peaceful protests have taken place in India, be it Bihar, Assam, Bengal, or Maharashtra, and where students or protestors have been targeted, we have decided to create a mechanism to track the legal cases lodged by the governments so that our lawyers can provide legal aid. We have demanded that there shouldn't be any FIRs, and if there have been, they should be withdrawn."
He added: "From my side, I have contributed Rs. 1 crore and I urge the advocates throughout India to extend their help in contributing to this fund so that we can help those affected. Our lawyers are standing up for those who have been affected by the misuse of law."
Sibal appealed that there shouldn't be any legal action against the students and protestors.