The ongoing faceoff between the Delhi police and the AAP government is now linked to JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar’s sedition case, with the police making a fervent appeal to lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung to disallow city administration’s senior standing counsel Rahul Mehra from representing it in the case in any court. Mr Jung, in turn, responded by giving his approval for appointment of lawyer Anil Soni to represent the police in the case.
Apart from Mr Soni, advocates Tushar Mehta, Sanjay Jain and Shailendra Babbar have been named by Mr Jung as the counsel for the Delhi police.
Mr Mehra, appointed by the AAP government, has been representing the city administration in a host of contentious issues in various courts. As Mr Mehra is said to have close links with the AAP leadership, there is fear in the police establishment that he may not represent the force properly as the AAP government is already at loggerheads with the Delhi police.
As the investigations in the case progressed, a request was made to Raj Niwas to appoint Mr Soni as the standing counsel so that he could represent the police in the sedition case lodged against the student leader at the Vasant Kunj police station. The lieutenant-governor’s OSD, Ajay Chaudhry, in his letter on February 20 said that Mr Jung has accorded his approval for the appointment of Mr Soni as the government counsel under Section 24 (8) of the CrPC for representing the Delhi police before the Delhi high court. Not only this, the lieutenant-governor has also directed that no other government counsel or standing counsel or additional standing counsel or panel lawyer could represent the police in the sedition case.
Subsequent to the lieutenant-governor’s directions, ACP (court cell) Y.S. Negi, through a memorandum on behalf of the cell’s additional commissioner of police, told the South District deputy commissioner of police that the Raj Niwas has conveyed its approval for the appointment of Mr Soni as the government counsel to represent the force in the sedition case. Mr Negi said except for Mr Soni no other government counsel or lawyer could represent the police in the sedition case before the high court.
