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Delhi High Court refuses to remove cop from inquiry
NDTV··29 Jul
The Delhi High Court dismissed a plea seeking the removal of Additional DCP Sandeep Lamba from supervising a court directed police inquiry, after a petitioner cited viral videos allegedly showing him slapping a woman during a July 20 protest as grounds for bias. Justice Girish Kathpalia said allegations alone cannot justify presuming guilt without due process.
Prism
What It Means For You
- The ruling affects anyone with a pending complaint against police conduct, clarifying that viral videos alone do not automatically disqualify an officer.
- It offers a legal precedent on how courts weigh due process against public perception in cases involving alleged police misconduct.
- Citizens following the July 20 protest violence get another data point on how accountability questions are being resolved through the courts.
What's Happening
- The Delhi High Court dismissed a plea seeking removal of Additional DCP Sandeep Lamba from supervising a police inquiry unrelated to his own conduct.
- The petitioner argued that viral videos allegedly showing Lamba slapping a woman during a CJP protest created an apprehension of bias.
- Justice Girish Kathpalia said allegations against an officer cannot by themselves justify presuming bias without due process or a fair trial.
Guilty On Video, Innocent Until Proven
- The court noted that the inquiry in question had already been completed and its report sent to the competent authority.
- The judge said transferring the inquiry solely due to unrelated allegations would effectively amount to holding the officer guilty without trial.
- Lamba's alleged conduct during the July 20 Jantar Mantar protest already triggered separate administrative action against him.
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