Prayagraj (UP), March 25 The Allahabad High Court has extended its interim stay on the order issued by the chief judicial magistrate of Sambhal, directing the registration of FIR against several police officers, including then Circle Officer Anuj Kumar Chaudhary.
When the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday, the complainant's counsel filed a counter affidavit in the case. The court then granted time for the petitioner's counsel to file a response.
It extended the interim order granted earlier and fixed April 21 as the date for the next hearing.
Earlier, Justice Samit Gopal had, after hearing a petition filed by then Sambhal Circle Officer Anuj Chaudhary, stayed the operation of the January 9 order of the then chief judicial magistrate directing the registration of the FIR.
Besides Chaudhary, the state government had also challenged the chief judicial magistrate's order. The court combined both the petitions.
The complainant, Yameen, had moved a petition – filed under Section 173(4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita – before the then Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Vibhanshu Sudheer.
In his petition, Yameen alleged that his son Alam was selling "pape" (rusk) and biscuits in his cart near Jama Masjid at Sambhal's Mohalla Kot area at around 8.45 am on November 24, 2024, when the named police officials suddenly opened fire at the crowd "with the intention to kill".
Yameen's petition had named Sambhal Circle Officer Anuj Chaudhary and Sambhal Kotwali in-charge Anuj Kumar Tomar.
In its 11-page order, CJM Sudheer had observed that the police cannot invoke "official duty" as a shield for criminal acts.
Referring to Supreme Court rulings, the CJM noted that firing upon a person cannot be considered the discharge of official duties. Observing that there was prima facie a cognisable offence, the CJM had said that the truth could only be unearthed through a proper investigation.