The Delhi High Court on Friday set aside a National Human Rights
Commission order holding Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti guilty of
“racial prejudice and unlawful acts” against 12 African women during
his controversial midnight raid in Khirki Extension in South Delhi.
A vacation bench of justices S Muralidhar and Manmohan Singh, while
setting aside the September 29 ruling of the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), also directed it to hear the matter afresh and pass a
detailed order by taking into account the evidence lead by Mr. Bharti
in his defence.
The AAP leader has also been asked to appear before the Commission on the next date of hearing in January.
The High Court passed the order while disposing of Mr. Bharti’s appeal
against its single judge’s decision to dismiss his petition against the
NHRC’s September 29 ruling.
Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain and central government standing
counsel Jasmeet Singh appeared for the Union of India in the matter.
Mr. Bharti in his appeal, filed through advocate Deepak Khosla, had
contended that the single judge had dismissed his plea as “premature”
without “allowing fair opportunity to explain the facts of the situation
before the NHRC and the legal grounds on which the writ petition was
eminently maintainable”.
In his writ petition against the NHRC order, Mr. Bharti had sought that
the Commission’s ruling be declared a “nullity” as it was passed without
giving him an opportunity to lead evidence in his defence.
Seeks Rs. 100 cr
He had also sought a compensation of Rs 100 crore from the Centre, NHRC and the city government.
Ms. Bharti’s petition had also said that NHRC had prematurely directed
the Delhi government to pay Rs 25,000 compensation each to the 12 women,
who had allegedly suffered racial abuse, illegal detention,
intimidation, abuse, assault and indignity by the AAP leader.
It had also questioned whether NHRC had the jurisdiction to award
compensation based on mere ‘prima facie’ findings, without taking the
proceedings before it to their full logical conclusion.
While his petition was pending in the High Court, the NHRC had on
December 22 accepted Mr. Bharti’s request for hearing on the
controversial midnight raid in January next and also directed Delhi
government to defer payment of monetary relief of Rs 25,000 to the
victims, recommended by it on September 29, for a period of two months.
The above verdict by the Delhi High court is a slap on the face of the media, the congress paarty and the BJP who orchestrated at a very High Decibel their demand for Somnath Bharati's resignation. It was nothing but a stunt of the media who found the AAP's way completely foreign and a threat to their way of life
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