The State government said on Wednesday that it would appeal against the High Court order granting bail to 21 people accused of inciting violence in Mangaluru during an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protest on December 19.
Amid suspicion raised by the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly about the existence of evidence against the accused, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had a tough time convincing them that the evidence to prove the participation of these people in the riots would be provided during the trial stage. “The government is ready for the legal battle. It is a matter of right to go to appellate court and we will exercise the right,” he said.
“We will provide evidence during the trial and we will put all efforts to convince the judge,” Mr. Bommai replied when Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah sought to know if all the evidences against the accused were given. “So far, you have no evidence to prove that these people were at the spot,” the former Chief Minister said. He also accused the police of excesses by implicating innocent people to cover up their failure.
When Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy cited earlier Supreme Court directions on bail orders and said: “It is not final”, the former Chief Minister asked why it was not brought to the notice of the High Court here.
Mr. Bommai said: “That [bail] does not take away the fact that there is a person hitting the CCTV camera with stick. Can you deny stone pelting or road being blocked? We will produce evidence during the trial.”
No judicial probe
Refusing to yield to the demand of the Opposition to institute a judicial inquiry headed by a High Court judge, Mr. Bommai said the government had followed procedures laid down by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in cases of death in police action. He said the inquiry by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the magistrate were in accordance with the procedure laid down by the NHRC.
Earlier in the day, the Legislative Assembly saw heated exchange of words between the ruling and the Opposition members as the House plunged into pandemonium nearly half a dozen times during a debate on the law and order situation.
Mr. Siddaramaiah referred to the High Court’s observation that the process adopted for imposing prohibitory orders in Bengaluru during the anti-CAA protests was not proper. He also quoted the High Court’s observation while granting bail to the 21 accused in Mangaluru violence that the State government had not provided any evidence to prove that the protesters had come fully armed to disrupt peace.
Quoting the court’s observation, Mr. Siddaramaiah described the Mangaluru violence as well as police firing as a “government-sponsored action which was pre-planned by the police.”
This irked Mr. Madhuswamy and Mr. Bommai who argued that it was not proper to quote partially from the court’s preliminary observation as the final verdict was yet to be pronounced by the court.
Mr. Madhuswamy even argued that it would be sub judice to debate the issue. Taking exception to this, Mr. Siddaramaiah wondered if the Opposition should keep quiet when the government was “foisting false cases against innocent persons”.
