A Delhi court issued a show cause notice to the station house officer and investigating officer at Shaheen Bagh police station asking why they should not be convicted for allegedly furnishing false information regarding the previous involvement of former Congress MLA Asif Mohammad Khan, arrested recently for allegedly misbehaving with police.
Additional Sessions Judge Sonu Agnihotri dismissed Khan’s bail by stating, “Issue show cause notice to IO SI Ashish Sharma and SHO PS Shaheen Bagh under section 177 IPC to show cause as to why they should not be convicted and punished for furnishing false information to this court regarding previous involvement of accused.” During the hearing, the court noted that a wrong/non-updated previous involvement report was filed by police.
Khan’s lawyers argued that a “false case was lodged against the accused in order to detain him in custody as the accused takes up social issues against police and police is adamant to keep the accused in custody on one pretext or the other”.
“Data of pending cases filed by IO with the reply to bail application of the accused is not correct and that only three cases at present are pending against the accused and in rest of cases, he has either been acquitted or discharged,” senior advocate Ramesh Gupta told the court.
Additional Public Prosecutor Nischal Singh told the court that “it may be that previous involvement report of accused has been filed by police without updation but that conduct of accused has been consistent in attacking government officials on duty”, however, “attack on law enforcers is a depreciable act and accused should not be granted bail”.
The court perused videos of the incident and stated that the accused has “no respect for law of land and he considers himself to be above law”. “The manner in which he is seen speaking with police… is depreciable. Whatever cause may be available to a person against government officials, he is not expected to take law into his own hands and misbehave and mishandle government officials who are discharging official duties,” court said.
Khan has been accused of allegedly obstructing a constable’s way in the Shaheen Bagh area, uttering objectionable words at the policeman, and then trying to incite the public at large.
The FIR was registered on the basis of the complaint of a Delhi Police constable who claimed that on January 4, while he was investigating a case of theft at Abul Fazal Enclave, he spotted a bike-borne man. The officer asked the man his name after he grew suspicious, following which the suspect allegedly left the spot. The suspect allegedly later returned with Khan on his bike and they hurled abuses at the officer, as Khan tried to allegedly incite the local residents against the officer, the FIR stated.