Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday asked Delhi Police to explain their behaviour and the need to use teargas and baton-charge in a closed enclosure when people were sleeping during yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s protest gathering at the Ramlila Ground here last month.

The apex court bench of Justice B.S. Chauhan and Justice Swatanter Kumar said there were documents and DVDs to show that yoga exercises were undertaken at the camp, and if that was so, what was the justification for police to resort to baton-charge.

Delhi Police chief B.K. Gupta, in an affidavit to the apex court, had said that the permission to use the Ramlila Ground was given for a yoga camp and not for any other purpose.

The court said that it would consider Ramdev’s plea to issue notice to union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on the grounds that the decision to use force against him and his followers at the anti-graft protest was not taken by Delhi Police June 4 but it was taken much earlier at the political level.

Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani, appearing for Ramdev, referred to a press release issued by the home ministry and an interview by Chidambaram to Doordarshan in support of his contention that the decision to use force was taken much earlier.

The case would next be heard July 25.

Jethmalani referred to the ministry’s press release June 8 in which Chidambaram said that “a decision was taken” that Baba Ramdev would not be allowed to organise any protest fast or undertake any fast-unto-death at Ramlila Ground and that if he persisted in his efforts to do so he would be “directed to remove himself from Delhi”.

The senior counsel said that the minister nearly repeated the same words in his interview with Doordarshan on that day.

Jethmalani said the minister’s comment was nothing but a strong arm tactic of the government and an attempt to gag any protest against corruption.

He wondered how could there be a decision to extern the yoga guru from Delhi.

Jethmalani described the government’s decision and action as “murder of democracy in the country”.

He said that Baba Ramdev had the lawful permission to hold dharna and satyagraha.

Delhi Police’s senior counsel Harish Salve said that he was given the permission to hold dharna and satyagraha only at Jantar Mantar.

When Jethmalani pressed for the issuance of a notice to Chidambaram, the court said “let them file a rejoinder to your affidavit and at that stage we will consider your prayer to issue notice”.

The court was informed that Delhi’s chief secretary did not file an affidavit on the matter because he was abroad when police evicted the yoga guru.

The judges said that there must have been someone looking after his responsibilities in his absence and ordered that an affidavit should be filed stating what was the need for using force to disperse the gathering.