Shun political vendetta while staging protest: Delhi court

Members of the public participating in a demonstration should not take the law into their own hands and should show some restraint while protesting, a Delhi court has observed while convicting six people for rioting in the capital almost 12 year ago.

"It's after all the hard earned money of taxpayers which is at stake... even the trial of such matters should be double-quick as a delayed trial may eventually give undue benefit to some mob-members due to possible non-identification," Additional sessions judge Manoj Jain said while delivering his order.

The court convicted six people of rioting, causing injuries to various public persons and police officials, and damaging public property in 2003.

The court observed that "community leaders should keep their political vendetta behind and unite in the moment of crisis instead of grinding their own axes".

The court also pointed out that "a mob staging protest are free to express their anguish but not by causing extensive damage to property and (attacking) police officials."

"A peaceful demonstration might have made some sense in a democratic country like ours which takes pride in the philosophy of non-violence propounded by Father of Nation," the court said.

The court further observed that the police, in such type of matters, should rather videograph the entire episode and acquire special skills in handling such type of mob so that no one plays havoc with public property and human lives.

Additional sessions judge Manoj Jain said in his verdict delivered on July 1 that "no one should be permitted to mislead and misguide the mob and to stir up and provoke their misplaced emotions".

The court's remarks came while convicting Madan Lal Suryavanshi, Radhey Shyam, Ashok Kumar Dudhiya, Nand Kishore, Suresh Kumar alias Pappu and Prem Chand for rioting in west Delhi on October 21, 2003.

A case was registered against 18 people in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh for damaging public property while staging a protest on Rohtak Road in Madipur locality.

According to police, the people gathered there were staging protest and obstructing traffic over the custodial death of one Sushil Kumar.

Later, the crowd started damaging various Delhi Transport Corporation buses and police motorcycles. They also hurled stones at police officials, the police alleged.

One of the accused Madan Lal Suryavanshi, a local leader, claimed that he had contested assembly elections twice and had made lodged several complaints against senior police officials and Congress leaders. He said he had been falsely implicated in this case due to his previous complaints.

Seven people were acquitted by court for want of sufficient evidence against them.

One accused Raju alias Handa is on the run while four accused died during the course of the trial and proceedings against them stood abated.