JUDGMENT

Mukta Gupta, J.(Oral)--By this petition the petitioner sought setting up of a Special Investigating Team consisting of senior officers to investigate into the crucial lacks allegedly committed in the incident which took place on 21st February, 2017 in the Seminar Hall of Ramjas College. Grievance of the petitioner in this petition was that statements of victims were not being recorded and the CDs and video footages handed over by the petitioners were not being looked into.

2. A status report has been handed over by learned Standing Counsel for the State as per which the statements of four victims out of the five victims whose names were given on the last date of hearing by the petitioners stating that their statements have not been recorded, have been recorded and despite notices being issued Ms.Meghna Mehra did not join the investigation. Learned counsel for petitioners states that Ms.Meghna Mehra will join the investigation with ACP Pankaj Singh and SI Priyanka tomorrow at 11:00 AM at their office at Sun Light Colony.

3. By this petition, the petitioners had sought the following prayers:

"a. Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction for the setting up of an SIT consisting of independent officers of integrity to do a Court monitored investigation and prosecution of all the persons engaging in the criminal acts as set out in this petition.

b. Order directing this SIT to immediately arrest the persons as set out in the petition and the videos who are seen engaging in criminal acts and thereafter subject them to custodial interrogation.

c. Issue an order directing the SIT to identify the colleges where the assailants are studying and thereafter to direct such colleges to suspend and thereafter rusticate these students in accordance with law.

d. Issue an order directing the SIT to identify the assailants and the organisation behind the conspiracy whose members participated in the assaults and thereafter to direct the Govt. of NCT of Delhi to pay each victim of the assaults Rs.5 lakhs, as well as Rs.1 lakh for the destruction of the camera of Apurva Choudhary, with liberty to recover the amounts paid from the assailants.

e. Issue an order directing the SIT to identify the police personnel who engaged in criminal acts including the criminally negligent act of not restraining the assailants and allowing them deliberately to carry out repeated attacks, during the incident and to suspend and thereafter to prosecute them in accordance with law.

f. For an order directing an independent and upright officer as may be chosen by this Hon'ble Court to proceed against the policemen who were guilty of criminally negligent acts and other offences such as assaults, departmentally and to suspend and dismiss them from service in accordance with law.

g. Pass such other order or orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances."

4. After the present petition was filed this Court on 17th May, 2017 noted that a PIL seeking action in the matter was pending before the Division Bench pursuant whereto a Committee has been constituted comprising of the Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime; DCP, Vigilance; and DCP (Special Protection Unit, Women and Child-Lady Officer) and the Joint CP, Crime has been designated as Head of the Committee.

5. Pursuant to the status report filed in this Court on 22nd January, 2018, this Court noted that for the incident that occurred on 21st February, 2017, FIR No.28/2017 has already been registered and statements of 62 witnesses have been recorded. 25 MLCs were collected and unedited raw footages of the incident and five video footages obtained were sent to forensic lab. Further two CDs and one pen drive containing video footages provided by the local police of PS Maurice Nagar were also sent to forensic lab. A lawyer had also provided a CD which was also sent to forensic labs. The CD and photographs received from the complainant were also investigated an