Court asks police to file fresh status report in UGC protest case involving Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav

A court here on Saturday asked the Delhi Police to submit a fresh status report in a case filed against 11 political leaders, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, in connection with a protest organised by the DMK on UGC draft regulations at Jantar Mantar in February 2025.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashwani Panwar said that the status report appeared to be filed “in a mechanical manner without application of mind”.

Apart from Gandhi and Yadav, DMK MPs Kanimozhi and A Raja were among those booked for allegedly participating in the protest.

The court had earlier, on February 19, directed the Delhi Police to file a status report in the case seeking an explanation of why BNS Section 223(a) (disobedience to order duly) was invoked against all the accused when the protest took place at Jantar Mantar, an area designated for protest.

After considering the status report filed by the police, the court on Saturday expressed dissatisfaction.

“The reply filed on record today does not answer the main issue as to how Section 223(a) BNS was invoked by the police, when the protest, as per the documents filed on record, allegedly took place in an exempted area at the protest site. The reply is absolutely silent on this point,” the court said.

The court said that the Investigating Officer (IO) in the case provided no timeline for completing further investigation.

“It appears that the present challan has been forwarded in a mechanical manner without application of mind. The IO has failed in his duty and filed the application seeking further investigation without disclosing or bringing into the notice of the court any new facts or evidence,” it said.

The court also noted that the reply filed by the police did not mention why the accused were not sent notices to join the investigation. “The present is not a case of oversight or inadvertence in forwarding the entire material before the court along with the challan but in the absence of clear explanations, appears to be a clear-cut omission of lawful duties by the IO, SHO and the ACP concerned,” the judge said. The court said the application did not disclose any new facts or evidence and did not mention a timeline for completing the proposed investigation.

“The IO has failed in his duty and filed the application seeking further investigation without disclosing or bringing into the notice of the court any new facts or evidence,” the court said. The judge also noted that instead of answering the issues raised in the February 19 order, the police merely sought more time for further investigation.

The court said it would consider the request for further investigation only after the police provide clear explanations regarding the issues flagged earlier. It then listed the matter for March 19 for further proceedings.