Delhi Court Discharges AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan In FIR Related To Kalindi Kunj Demolition Drive

A Delhi Court on Wednesday discharged Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan in a case registered by Delhi Police related to the alleged rioting and stone pelting on police personnel in May last year during demolition drive being carried out by South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

Special Judge Vikas Dhull of Rouse Avenue Courts set aside an order passed by ACMM directing framing of charges against Khan.

The ACMM had charged Khan and various others under sections 147, 149, 153, 186, 353 and 332 of IPC. Separate charge under section 153 of the Code was framed against him.

After watching the videos on record, Judge Dhull said that there was no obstruction caused either to the JCB machine or the SDMC officials in carrying out the demolition activity.

The court said that even no member of the alleged unlawful assembly is seen present at the demolition site or near the JCB.

“Further, in none of the videos, any member of the unlawful assembly is seen jostling with the police or beating up the police officials or trying to forcibly cross the barricades put up by the police,” the court said.

Noting that although Khan is seen in one of the videos telling the police that “law and order mat bigadoo, nahi to yahan fasaad hoga (don’t disturb the law and order situation otherwise there will be disturbance)”, the court said his statement was an “empty threat” as it was not coupled with any act of violence or use of force and was a kind of warning to the police officials and SDMC officials to not to carry out the demolition as it might lead to law and order situation.

“Further, it is nowhere seen in the video footage that revisionist had provoked the crowd to indulge in the act of stone pelting or to break the barricades or to stop the SDMC officials from carrying out their official duties,” it said.

The court also said though it is true that some of the video footages show that the members of the crowd were seen raising slogans against SDMC, Delhi Police and even against BJP, such act by itself is not sufficient to prima facie hold that the crowd was being instigated or provoked to indulge in stone pelting or to obstruct SDMC officials in carrying out their official duties.

“In the entire video recording of the incident, it is seen that crowd is peacefully protesting against the demolition programme and were seen raising slogans against Delhi Police, SDMC and even against BJP. However, during the peaceful protest, they were not armed with any deadly weapon and even did not engage in any act of scuffle with the officials of Delhi police and even did not beat them up,” it said.

The court also said that the prosecution has not provided any plausible explanation as to why there was no video recording of the alleged site where stones and bricks were lying after the stone pelting was done by the alleged unlawful assembly.

“Therefore, it was not proper on the part of Ld.ACMM-04, RADC, New Delhi to have charged the revisionist for the alleged offences when the video recording was not corroborating the allegations of the witnesses and even discharge of some of the accused persons was based upon the video recording,” the court said.

The FIR was registered after a complaint was made by Inspector Sudhir Kumar alleging that during the demolition-cum-sealing drive in city’s Kanchan Kunj area, Khan had gathered the people of the locality and started instigating them against the action being carried out by SDMC.

It was alleged that the crowd became aggressive, pushed the policemen and indulged in the act of stone pelting due to which a head constable and a constable suffered injuries.