PIl against Gajendra martyr status: HC seeks Delhi govt reply

The Delhi High Court today sought the city government's response on a PIl challenging its decision to declare as "martyr" a Rajasthan farmer who had allegedly hanged himself at an AAP rally here.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice R S Endlaw asked Delhi government's standing counsel to take instructions on the PIl filed by a lawyer who also sought directions to restrain the Arvind Kejriwal government from putting up a statue in memory of the farmer Gajendra Singh Kalyanwat.

"The standing counsel for Delhi government seeks time to get instruction regarding the averment made in the petition. The same is allowed," the bench said.

Government's standing counsel Raman Duggal agreed to get instructions over the issue, saying he has not received the copy of the petition.

The court, meanwhile, declined the petitioner's request to restrain Delhi government from putting up the statue of the deceased farmer, saying, "there is no material before us about the cabinet decision."

"let the counsel for Delhi government take instructions and come," the bench said while posting the matter for further hearing on July 1.

The court was hearing the petition filed by advocate Avadh Kaushik seeking directions to restrain them "from glorifying, justifying, supporting, propagating and consecrating the act of suicide committed by the politician-cum-farmer on April 22, 2015 at Jantar Mantar."