Opinion JNU row: Bassi master’s baton
As JNU row turns nastier, Delhi police commissioner’s conduct invites accusations of unprofessionalism and partisanship
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B S Bassi
The unseemly events at Delhi’s Patiala House court on Wednesday were a near replay of Monday’s incidents of violence. If the media, students and academicians from JNU were targeted by a section of lawyers on Monday, they turned their attention to the arrested JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar on Wednesday. Delhi Police, which had been specifically instructed by the Supreme Court to take steps to ensure peace at Patiala House, seemed unprepared, even complicit, as the lawyers took the law into their own hands, and fists, again. The lawyers also abused the team of senior advocates sent by the apex court, who criticised Delhi Police for failing to protect Kumar in their report to the SC. The apex court has asked Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi for an explanation and warned it would intervene if he fails to ensure law and order.
The court’s strictures were overdue. The commissioner claims to have “followed norms of prudent policing”, but the conduct of the force he leads borders on the unprofessional and partisan in the JNU episode. There are several instances in the past few days that should be seen to be deeply embarrassing to any professional police force.
JNU Row: What Delhi Police’s Failure To Ensure Order At The Patiala House Court Tells Us
While Bassi claims to have clinching evidence about Kumar’s “sedition”, it turned out that he had endorsed a fake twitter handle to back the claim. Bassi’s team refused to book the persons who attacked journalists and students in the court premises on Monday despite clear video footage and photographic evidence. BJP MLA O.P. Sharma was seen hitting a CPI worker in public view, but the police continues to act coy when it comes to booking him. Prompt measures on Monday could have prevented a repeat of the events on Wednesday — the message would have gone out that no party would be allowed to take the law into its hands and violate the sanctity of the court.
Delhi Police’s inertness and inaction have invited legitimate questions about its fairness and partiality. The shadow over the actions of Bassi and the force he heads stretches to his relations with the Delhi administration as well, which have been far from cordial. The police commissioner has repeatedly breached the norms of conduct expected of a civil servant by publicly questioning and disputing the decisions of the elected government.
Sedition Case: Visuals Of Lawyers Sloganeering At The Patiala House
In his helmsmanship of Delhi Police, Bassi has invited accusations of a bias in favour of the party that rules the Centre. His recent actions only lend credence to that suspicion. As his tenure draws to a close, he seems set to leave behind a tainted legacy.
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