Written by Md Mustafa, Md Minhajuddin, Shayaan Mujeeb
On December 13, 2019, the Jamia Teachers’ Association gave a call for protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens. After Friday prayers, students gathered to march to Parliament. As they began leaving the campus, the police sought to forcibly prevent them from proceeding further. The examinations scheduled for the next day were cancelled. A day after that, police and paramilitary forces entered the university and women’s hostels. They forcibly entered the library and the masjid where students were praying and brutally beat them up. All this on a day when calm had returned to campus. The Chief Proctor of the University tweeted, “Delhi Police have entered the campus by force, no permission was given. Our staff and students are being beaten and forced to leave the campus.” The scene at the Al-Shifa and Holy Family hospital nearby resembled a war-like situation with students being rushed to emergency care units late into the night. Many came in with broken bones and severe head injuries. One of the writers of this article had a lathi pushed into his eye — he was blinded in that eye. Similar incidents also took place at Aligarh Muslim University where the Rapid Action Force mercilessly assaulted students. The assault on students at the Jamia library was uncalled for. More than 60 students were brought to the trauma centre, university hospital, Malkhan City Hospital and the Intensive Care Unit.
A writ petition was filed in the Delhi High Court a few days later by the students where horrifying photographs of those injured were taken and the use of excess force by police on unarmed students was well documented. The medical certificates are testimony to the assault. The Indian Express reported that the Vice Chancellor, Najma Akhtar had demanded in a press conference that a high-level inquiry against the police should be conducted and that “the university would also file an FIR against Police Personnel for violence and vandalism”. The Registrar, A P Siddiqui was quoted as saying that a “war-like situation” existed. The petition included the written testimonies of 90 students. All injured students confirmed that they could identify the policemen who had hurled communal insults while beating them.
The petition sought medical attention, reopening of the university, a guarantee that the students will not be forced to leave the campus, a judicial inquiry, an order for the preservation of the CCTV footage and a special investigation team of policemen from outside the state.
Since the authorities maintained their aggressive stance towards the students, they moved the Supreme Court in the hope that justice would be served. But on the very first date of the hearing, SC decided that this case be sent to the High Court with a “request to dispose off the matters expeditiously”.
The drama then shifted to the Delhi High Court. At the beginning of the proceedings, students had hope. The order sheets of the High Court proceedings show that numerous advocates have appeared for students, day after day, on 16 occasions from 2019 to date. But the High Court has moved at a slow, bureaucratic pace. After several hearings, towards the tail end of the case, the bench was abruptly broken up, a new bench was constituted and arguments began afresh. The petitioners’ frustration had turned to bitterness by then.
After four years of meandering listlessly in the Delhi High Court, the students approached the Supreme Court again. But it maintained its earlier stance despite the fervent plea of the students. The SC sent the matter back to the High Court with an order to dispose off the petition within three months. One year passed with the petitions remaining as they were. In the meantime, the students have lost faith in the judiciary. That an incident this serious can be treated so casually by the highest court in the country is disheartening.
Minhajuddin is currently a student at Jamia Millia Islamia, while Mustafa and Mujeeb are former students. All three writers are petitioners in the case
