PILs in Supreme Court seeking probe and inquiry into Violence During Tractors Rally

PILs in Supreme Court seeking probe and inquiry into Violence During Tractors Rally

Public Interest Litigations (PILs) were filed by two Advocates before the Supreme Court (SC) wherein they sought the setting up of a commission headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge and comprising two retired High Court Judges to hold a time-bound investigation into the incidents

Two Advocates approached the SC with two different PILs seeking a judicial inquiry into the violence on Republic day in Delhi during a march by farmers protesting the Centre's new farm laws.

The PIL filed by Advocate Vishal Tiwari sought a direction to register the FIR under relevant Sections of the India Penal Code and other penal provisions against the person(s) or Organization(s) who would be found responsible for the violence and alleged dishonor of National flag.

It was submitted that everything was pre-decided and there were no rumors of violence on 26 January 2021. The PIL added, "The Tractor march took a violent turn leaving injuries and destruction of public property. This incident also affected the daily life of the public. The Internet services were interrupted as the government ordered the operators to suspend the same. In the present time, the Internet services are very essential to carry out the work in different professions especially in Advocacy as the courts and our Supreme Court of India is functioning online".

In his PIL Advocate, Tiwari also sought directions of the SC for the setting up of a commission headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge and comprising two retired High Court Judges to hold a time-bound investigation into the incidents.

The petition mentioned that the protest was going peacefully for the past two months and suddenly it got violent on the Republic Day. The petition read, "There may be some Conspiracy to cause disturbance and to damage the peaceful protest by some notorious forces or organizations and create a clash between police and protesting farmers. Or it was due to the lapses (maybe deliberately) from the side of police Administration to create such circumstances in which disturbances will definitely occur".

Another PIL was filed by Advocate Vineet Jindal who urged the Top Court to take suo moto cognizance of the disruptions on 26 January 2021. It was mentioned that the tractors' rally was supposed to proceed after 12 noon after the conclusion of Republic Day celebrations but it started at 8 am instead of 12 noon.

It was also pointed out that the route map allotted by Delhi Police was not adhered to; instead, different route was undertaken by the tractor rally which caused hardship to Delhi residents.

The Advocate further mentioned that the tractor rally caused a lot of menace and chaos by breaking the barricades. It caused a lot of damage and destruction to the public property that led to disruptions of law and order situation.

The petitioners showed concern and raised certain questions before the Top Court for its consideration, "Is police Administration is responsible for it or for creating Such Circumstances? Are farmers responsible for breaking the conditions of tractor march and committing violence?"

Advocate Vineet Jindal has urged the Supreme Court to constitute an independent commission for enquiry of the incident and an immediate action against all the culprits.