Anti-graft campaign: Delhi Court dismisses plea against Arvind Kejriwal, Anna Hazare

A Delhi court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking lodging of an FIR against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Anna Hazare and others for allegedly “instigating” people against the government during their anti-graft campaign in August 2011 which purportedly led to the death of a youth.

Special Judge Sanjay Garg-I said the application seeking condonation of delay for filing an appeal against a magisterial court’s 2011 verdict, refusing to order lodging of FIR, was “without merit” and “hopelessly barred by time”.

The court passed the order on an appeal filed by Satbir Singh, a resident of Najafgarh here, seeking to set aside the order of a magisterial court which refused to direct the police to register an FIR against Kejriwal, Hazare, Kiran Bedi and senior advocate Shanti Bhushan, who were then the members of ‘India Against Corruption’.

The sessions court, while deciding the application for condonation of delay, noted that the trial court had passed its order on September 19, 2011 and this petition was filed on April 1, 2015.

“There is huge delay in filing this petition. The reasons for delay given by the petitioner are without any merit. Without touching the merits of the petition, the application of the petitioner under Section 5 of Limitation Act is found absolutely without any merit. The same is hopelessly barred by time and is, accordingly, dismissed,” the judge said.

Singh, in his plea, had alleged that the accused had hatched a conspiracy to cause loss to and undermine the then government, the Prime Minister and other ministers.

In the protest, they had “instigated” citizens to gather at Ramlila Maidan on August 16, 2011 and asked them to ‘gherao’ MPs , ministers, cause nuisance and disrupt traffic on a large scale, he had claimed.

The petitioner also alleged that during the protest, a 21-year-old youth had died and held Hazare, Kejriwal and others responsible for it.

He said since the police took no action after he had filed a complaint, he then moved the court seeking lodging of FIR under section 156 (3) of the CrPC.

Earlier, the SHO of Kamla Market Police Station had filed a report before the magistrate that Hazare had taken permission from concerned authorities — MCD and Delhi Police for holding the protest.

The sessions court noted that perusal of the trial court order revealed that there was no such order passed dismissing the application moved by the petitioner under Section 156(3) CrPC.