The Supreme Court of India has redirected petitions related to the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to respective high courts and has asked them to set up enquiry panels.
On Tuesday, CJI SA Bobde, while addressing lawyer Indira Jaisingh who, along with a group of lawyers, had requested the court to take suo motu cognizance of the matter, said, “we do not have to intervene. It is a law and order problem, how did the buses burn? Why don’t you approach jurisdictional High Court?”
He also said, “we are not a trial court. We cannot assume jurisdiction for whatever is happening all over the country. The situations may be different, facts and circumstances may be different.”
Lawyer Indira Jaisingh, who was representing the students of Jamia university, countered by saying, “It is a cross state issue and needs a fact-finding SIT. How can the court wash its hands of the issue? The court heard Telangana encounter case. We are asking for a similar order.”
While she said that the police had entered the university without permission of vice-chancellor and in the clash one person lost eyesight and legs of some students were broken, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was representing the police, countered and said “not a single student lost eyesight”. He also told the court that not a single student has been arrested or put in jail.
Also Read: SC to hear Nirbhaya gang-rape, murder convict’s review plea today
The bench, comprising Justices B R Gavai and Suryakant, had agreed to hear the matter on Tuesday with the rider that there should be no more rioting and destruction of public property by the protesters.
Earlier, there were nationwide protests, especially by student groups, against the government’s Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, which gives citizenship to migrants, of six non-Muslim minority communities from three countries, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.