New Delhi [India], March 15 : The Delhi High Court on Saturday listed multiple habeas corpus pleas for urgent hearing on Sunday. These pleas are for the production of the students allegedly detained illegally by the Delhi Police.
The matter was mentioned before Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay. After allowing the mention, the pleas have been listed for hearing on Sunday at 12 noon.
The division bench comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja will hear the pleas of habeas corpus.
Advocate Deeksha Dwivedi mentioned the petition of Sagrika Rajora, whose sister has not been traceable since the evening of Friday.
Petitioner is seeking the immediate production of her real sister, Lakshita Rajora alias Badal, aged 22 years.
The plea said that the detainee has been untraceable and is strongly suspected to be under the illegal and unconstitutional detention of the personnel of the Respondents, specifically the Special Cell, Delhi Police, since the evening of March 13.
Petitioner has made the Commissioner of Police and the Special Cell of the Delhi police parties in the petition.
Petition moved through advocate Deeksha Dwivedi has stated that the detainee, Lakshita, was last known to be at the office of the student organisation 'BSCEM' in Vijay Nagar, near Delhi University North Campus.
It is also mentioned that approximately eight months ago, the detainee, along with her associates, was previously subjected to unrecorded, illegal abduction and severe custodial torture by officials of the Delhi Police Special Cell for over a week.
Given this antecedent, the Petitioner apprehends an imminent threat to the life and liberty of the Detenue, the plea said.
It is also claimed that, despite a formal written complaint to the SHO of the Vijay Nagar police station on March 14, no information has been provided, thereby blatantly violating Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution and Sections 35, 36, 48, and 49 of the BNSS, 2023.
It is stated that since approximately 8:00 PM on March 13, the detainee has been untraceable. Her mobile phone was abruptly switched off, and neither the Petitioner nor any family member has received any communication regarding her whereabouts.
It is further stated that local inquiries reveal that several other individuals present at the said BSCEM office have also similarly disappeared, raising severe suspicions of a coordinated, unrecorded raid/sweep by State authorities.
It is stated that the Petitioner has a grave, specific, and well-founded apprehension that the Detenue has been illegally abducted and detained by officials of the Respondent Special Cell, Delhi Police.
This fear is grounded in the fact that approximately 8 months ago, the detainee, along with Ehtemam and Gaurav, was illegally detained and subjected to severe custodial torture by the officials of the Special Cell for over a week without any formal arrest memo, production before a Magistrate, or intimation to her family.
Petitioner has sought a direction to appoint a Warrant Officer to search the premises of the Special Cell and the Vijay Nagar police station or any other suspected place of illegal detention to recover the Detenue.
It is also prayed to direct the Respondents to preserve and place on record the CCTV footage of the BSCEM Office in Vijay Nagar for the evening of March 13, as well as the CCTV footage of PS Vijay Nagar and the Special Cell office for the period between March 13 and the present date.
She has also sought initiation of strict departmental and legal action against the erring police officials if the detainee is found to have been illegally detained.