Don’t make us probe agency, says HC refusing to take cognisance of attack on foreign students

Ahmedabad, Mar 18 (PTI) The Gujarat High Court on Monday said it should not be made a probe agency and every incident is not a matter of PIL, in reference to an attack on students hailing from foreign countries at a university hostel in Ahmedabad.

A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee refused to take suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the incident and said police will look into it.

The court made the remarks after a lawyer requested it to take up the issue as a suo motu PIL (public interest litigation).

“Our effort is that justice be done, but don’t make us an investigating agency. We are not doing that. We still want to remind ourselves that we are constitutional courts. We will definitely take into cognisance if such matter comes in, but this is not one of those,” Chief Justice Agrawal said.

She said every incident in the city is not a matter of PIL.

“Don’t substitute this court with inspectors of police. Don’t make us the inspector of police. We are not investigating officers,” CJ Agrawal said.

When lawyer KR Koshti submitted that the police had not incorporated all relevant sections in the FIR, the court asked him to take legal remedy.

Around two dozen people allegedly barged into the government-run Gujarat University’s hostel in Ahmedabad on Saturday night and raised an objection to students from foreign countries offering namaz near the facility block where they stayed, according to the police.

Two students – one from Sri Lanka and another from Tajikistan – were hospitalised after the incident which took place in the A-block hostel, police earlier said.

An FIR was registered against 20-25 unidentified assailants, and nine teams were formed to conduct a probe into the incident, they said.

So far, five persons have been arrested in connection with the incident, the police said.