As Delhi Police Say 10 Activists Released, High Court Seeks Explanation On Reasons For Their Detention

The Delhi Police on Sunday told the Delhi High Court that all 10 activists, allegedly in illegal detention, have been released.

A division bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja, in a special sitting held on Sunday, has asked the Police to explain the circumstances and the authority in law under which they were detained.

The Court issued notice in the habeas corpus petitions filed by Ehsanul Haq, Rajbir and Sagrika Rajora.

Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves appeared for Haq, Advocate Sharukh Alam represented Rajbir and Advocate Jasdeep Dhillon appeared for Rajora.

At the outset, Gonsalves said that except one individual, all others were released only after the matter was reported in the media. He said that it was a very alarming situation where the police had got completely out of control.

The standing counsel appearing for the Delhi Police said that all the individuals have been released and that the case was not so simple as being projected by the petitioners.

Dhillon said that one Rudra was still in custody. He said that Rudra was taken to another location and that the detained individuals were subjected to torture, and were also threatened that they will be eliminated.

Alam said that the individuals were taken into custody by men in plain clothes. She said that they were not taken to police station but to an unmarked safe house and were not even produced before the magistrate. She said that this is the second time it has happened with the activists and that they were subjected to torture, abuse and violence.

The Court asked the Police to trace Rudra and inform about his whereabouts by tomorrow.

The Court issued notice in the petitions and asked the Police to ensure that CCTV footages of relevant areas be preserved.

The matters will now be heard on March 27.

One of the habeas corpus pleas has been filed by Advocate Deeksha Dwivedi on behalf of one Sagrika Rajora seeking directions to the State and police authorities to immediately produce her sister, Lakshita Rajora, before the Court.

The petition seeks production of the 22-year-old woman claiming that she has been missing since the evening of March 13 from the Vijay Nagar area near Delhi University.

According to the plea, the detenue had gone to the office of a student organisation located in Vijay Nagar near Delhi University North Campus on the evening of March 13, after which she became untraceable at around 8 PM and her phone was found switched off.

It has been alleged that several other individuals present at the same office also went missing around the same time.

Rajora has expressed a “grave and well-founded apprehension” that her sister may have been illegally picked up by officials of the Special Cell, Delhi Police.

She has stated that about eight months earlier, the detenue and her associates were allegedly subjected to illegal detention and custodial torture by the same agency for over a week without formal arrest or production before a magistrate.

Title: SAGRIKA RAJORA v. THE STATE (NCT OF DELHI) & ORS and other connected matters