NEW DELHI: Allegations against ex-Delhi University (DU) lecturer SAR Gilani, arrested under sedition charges in connection with a Press Club event here, are “grievous” and whatever he has purportedly said is against the country, police today told a court here
The public prosecutor, representing Delhi police, told Additional Sessions Judge Deepak Garg that he was not in a position to argue the matter today as he has not received the copy of Gilani’s bail plea yet.
“I am not in a position to argue today. There are grievous allegations (against Gilani) and (whatever he has purportedly stated) are against the country,” the prosecutor told the judge.
As the hearing commenced, the prosecutor told the court that Gilani’s bail petition was not supplied to him but the entire case emanates from the video footage of the event organized at the Press Club here.
To this, the judge told the investigating officer (IO), “What are you doing? These are small things and I need not remind you about this.”
Advocate Satish Tamta, who appeared for Gilani, said that even yesterday arguments on bail plea were deferred for today.
The judge, however, said, “let it (bail plea) be taken up tomorrow morning as the first matter.”
During the brief hearing, the prosecutor asked the IO to bring video footage of the event and a laptop in the court.
Earlier on February 19, a magisterial court had dismissed the bail plea of Gilani, who was arrested on February 16, after the police had alleged that “hatred” was being generated against the government.
Police had told the court that an event was held on February 10 in which banners were placed showing Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat as martyrs.
It had also said the hall in the Press Club was booked by Gilani, who is presently in judicial custody, through his associate Ali Javed by using his credit card and another man Mudassar was also involved.
At the Press Club event, a group had allegedly shouted slogans hailing Afzal Guru, following which the police had lodged a case under sections 124A (sedition), 120B(criminal conspiracy) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC against Gilani and other unnamed persons.
The police had claimed to have registered the FIR taking suo motu cognizance of media clips of the incident.
Following registration of the FIR, the police questioned DU professor Ali Javed, a Press Club member who had booked the hall for the event, for two days.
Gilani was arrested in connection with the 2001 Parliament attack case but was acquitted for “need of evidence” by Delhi High Court in October 2003, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in August 2005.–PTI
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