New
Delhi: Yoga guru Ramdev today alleged in the Supreme Court that Union
Home Minister P Chidambaram was behind the midnight crackdown on him and
his followers during the protests on black money at the Ramlila Maidan
last month.
A Bench comprising justices B S Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar said it will consider the plea after getting the response of the Delhi police on the June 4 incident and posted the matter for next hearing on July 25.
Jethmalani said Ramdev had taken a decision not to walk to Jantar Mantar to protest corruption and was staying with his followers at the Ramlila Maidan when the crackdown was launched.
He alleged there was no order of externment against Ramdev and, therefore, Chidambaram must be called to explain when the decision was taken and why it was taken to get the area vacated.
However, before Jethmalani began the submissions, the Bench told senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the Delhi police, that the law enforcing agency should answer a few questions related to the crackdown.
The Bench said the previous affidavit did not clarify what happened between June 1 and June 3. It said the DVDs and photographs, including the documents, clearly showed that yoga was being practised at the venue and asked the authorities to explain the situations that provoked them to stop Ramdev from carrying forward his program.
The Bench also questioned the police for lobbing tear gas and water cannons at the enclosed premises to drive out the people.
"Is it not expected that the tear gas and water cannons should be used in enclosed part... Was it not that people at 11:30 p.m. were sleeping? You resort to lathicharge. The photographs show the commissioner of police is talking to someone," the bench said.
At the outset, the bench made it clear it is not dealing with any other aspect, except the June 4 occurrence.
Delhi Police subsequently, in its affidavit on the pre-dawn swoop at Ramlila Maidan, denied the allegations that it had used force to evict the yoga guru and his supporters from the site and claimed teargas shells were fired only after Ramdev's supporters turned violent and started pelting stones on the police.
Justifying its action, police had said the authorities had granted permission to Ramdev to use the ground only to hold yoga camp and not for any other purpose.
The apex court had also issued notice to Ramdev-run Bharat Swabhiman Trust on June 19, seeking to know its version over the eviction of the yoga guru and his supporters from Ramlila maidan.
Source: Agencies