Journalist Facing SC/ST Act FIR After Accusing Delhi Police ACP Of Sexual Harassment Moves Delhi HC Seeking Protection From Arrest
The Delhi High Court on Thursday declined a request for urgent listing of a plea filed by a female journalist seeking interim protection from arrest in a case registered under the SC-ST Act on a complaint by a Delhi Police Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) after he was accused by her of sexual harassment.
The matter was mentioned before a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma.
During the mentioning, counsel appearing for the petitioners submitted that the case arose out of a single FIR and that both petitioners were journalists, while the complainant was an ACP with the Delhi Police.
Counsel told the Court that the complaint under the SC/ST Act had been filed in the aftermath of a complaint lodged by the journalist alleging sexual assault. Seeking interim protection, counsel urged the bench to take up the matter on Thursday, citing a strong apprehension of arrest.
However, the bench declined the request for urgent listing.
"Don’t insist. We will post it after the vacation" the Court said.
When counsel sought the Court’s accommodation once again, the bench reiterated its position, following which counsel apologised.
The plea concerns an FIR lodged on the complaint of ACP Vivek Bhagat. The journalist has alleged that the police officer sexually harassed her during a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on October 3.
According to the allegations, the journalist was recording videos of an activist’s detention when the ACP allegedly touched her inappropriately and pushed her.
Bhagat, in turn, accused the journalist and her colleagues of publicly humiliating him and using casteist slurs while he was discharging his official duties. The FIR invokes Sections 221, 356(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The FIR was registered at Parliament Street police station late on October 13, after Mr. Bhagat submitted his complaint to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi district, the same day. It names the woman journalist, Gajendra Singh of News Diggy and an unidentified person as accused.
The complaint alleges that Mr. Bhagat and Constable Ravi Dahiya heard the journalist make references to his caste, remarking that members of his community traditionally worked as tailors and weavers, and questioning how he had risen to the rank of ACP.
Mr. Bhagat claimed that he initially ignored the alleged remarks and continued with his official duties. He further alleged that at around 3 p.m., while he was clearing a passage for a bus carrying detained protesters, the journalist accused him of sexually assaulting her.
According to his complaint, she and her colleagues, including Mr. Singh, repeatedly confronted him, questioning how he could have touched her inappropriately and thereby allegedly obstructing him from discharging his official duties.
The officer said the alleged remarks were made at Buta Singh Roundabout on October 3, where police personnel had been deployed to manage a protest against the Election Commission of India.
The journalist had also lodged a complaint alleging sexual harassment against the ACP. As per her verision, no FIR had been registered on her complaint at the time.