The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered the Delhi police to respond to MLA Amanatullah Khan’s plea challenging its decision to declare him as a “bad character”.
Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain, however, declined to interfere at this stage with the Delhi Police decision noting that it required consideration.
“It is already subjudice. I don’t think they will act on it. It requires consideration. I admit your petition...Let a status report be filed,” the high court said while posting the case for further hearing on July 28.
During the hearing, advocate M. Sufian Siddiqui, appearing for Mr. Khan, asked the high court to grant an interim relief by directing the police not to “act upon” the decision. Advocate Siddiqui contended that the dossier of Mr Khan was leaked to the media by the Delhi police in contravention of the laws and regulations which mandates it to be kept confidential.
“It’s a classic case of brazen abuse of the process of law by the Delhi Police,” Mr. Khan said in his plea.
The Okhla constituency MLA has sought quashing of the ‘History Sheet’ opened concerning him and the purported proposal declaring him as ‘Bad Character’. He has also sought to remove his name from the Surveillance Register to keep a close surveillance on his activities.
On May 13, Mr. Khan said he learnt from social media that on March 28, 2022 the Station House Officer of Police Station Jamia Nagar had submitted a dossier to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) and the Assistant Commissioner of Police, New Friends Colony along with proposal of opening History Sheet of the petitioner and to place his name as ‘Bad Character’.
The proposal accompanies a list of total 18 cases against Mr. Khan. Of these cases, advocate Siddiqui said Mr Khan has been acquitted in 2 cases, discharged in 7 cases, and another four cases have been compounded.
In the Delhi police’s proposal, besides referring Mr Khan as ‘BC’, which stands for ‘Bad Character’, it alleges that, “soon he made a group consisting of persons from his village and his neighboring villages and he indulged in land grabbing and illegal constructions. He created terror in general.”
The proposal said, “most of cases are related to intimidation, threatening, hurt, riots causing hindrance duties of public servants and causing enmities between two groups/communities” and “It is clear that he has become a habitual and desperate criminal of the area”.
Lastly, the proposal said, “As Amanatullah Khan has become a habitual criminal and has been involved in land grabbing and hurt offences and the prosecution made against him have failed to deter him from his criminal activities, his activities need to be kept under surveillance.”
Mr. Siddiqui pointed out that no material whatsoever has been included in the dossier/proposal to support the allegations of land grabbing, illegal construction, making of any group, creation of terror in general, becoming habitual criminal, riots, causing hindrance in discharge of duties of public servants, and/or causing enmities between two groups/communities against Mr. Khan.
On May 13, the AAP legislator was arrested by Delhi Police for rioting and obstructing public servants from discharging their duty after he took part in a protest against an anti-encroachment drive in southeast Delhi. He was released on bail the next day by a local court noting he was no more required for custodial interrogation.
