New Delhi: Less than a week after a court discharged Jawaharlal Nehru University student Sharjeel Imam and 10 others in connection with the 2019 Jamia Millia Islamia violence case, Additional Sessions Judge Arul Varma, who held that the police had not arrested the “actual perpetrators” but found “scapegoats”, has recused himself from the case.
While discharging the 11 accused in the case, he had slammed the police authorities for filing multiple chargesheets in the case with “nothing new to offer”, adding that it “trampled the rights of the accused”. He had also noted that the police arbitrarily chose to array “some people from the protesting crowd as accused and others as police witnesses”. This “cherry picking” is detrimental to the precept of fairness, he had said.
He announced his decision to recuse himself from the case on Friday, February 10 – the day when the Delhi police challenged his ruling in the Delhi high court. The police alleged that the trial court was “swayed by emotional and sentimental feelings”. It added that the court raised aspersions and passed “gravely prejudicial and adverse remarks” against its investigation.
Varma, who was hearing two cases related to the violence that took place near Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13 and December 15, 2019, announced his decision to the counsel who appeared before him in the December 15 matter.
A report in the Indian Express quoted Deeksha Dwivedi, the counsel for one of the accused, as saying: “When we were present at the hearing, the judge said I am recusing myself from the matter. I told the judge that this is very saddening. The judge told us that you need to have faith in the law and judiciary and that you need to trust the system.”
Varma also told the lawyers present in his court that he was recusing himself “due to personal reasons”. The issue was subsequently referred to the Principal District and Sessions Judge at the Saket district court with the request that the case be transferred. The application will come up for hearing on February 13.
This story was originally published in thewire.in . Read the full story here
