Shooting of S.A.R. Geelani and subsequent conduct of the powers that be, Delhi police in particular, has thrown up many important questions for democratic sections of the country to ponder over about the state of democratic rights in India. Mr. S.A.R. Geelani, a Professor of Arabic in Zakir Hussain College of Delhi University was arrested as a co-conspirator in Parliament attack case. He was convicted by the sessions judge but was acquitted by Delhi High Court. Govt.’s appeal against his acquittal has been pending before the Supreme Court.

On 8th February, 2005 when he was going to his lawyer's house he was shot and wounded in front of the house of his advocate, Ms. Nandita Hasksar. He received three gun shot wounds, two of  which pierced his intestines at 11 places. After intensive care at AIIMS, his life was saved. And thereby hangs a tale.

Police was the prime suspect in this attack. Ms. Haksar alleged that Special Branch of Delhi police had been instrumental in the attack. It appears they wanted to correct the mistake of the High Court and pre-empt the possibility of similar mistake by the Supreme Court, all in the service of national security. They were probably upset by the failure of their attempt, though it is not natural for them to be upset over their failure to provide security to the people, the avowed purpose of their existence.

Ever since the shoot-out, Delhi police has been on a spree of slandering all those around Mr. Geelani. Ms. Haksar for why she took Mr. Geelani to hospital while she, as a law abiding citizen, should have informed the police, waited for them and allowed them to do the rest. Delhi police is also cut up with AIIMS doctors who gave precedence to their efforts to save Mr. Geelani’s life rather than allowing Delhi police to interrogate him whatever the state of his condition. Is national security (or 'security' of those entrusted with it) not of paramount importance? Delhi police raised questions which were dutifully reproduced by our national media questioning the bonafides of Ms. Hasksar’s husband. How he comes into the picture is not yet clarified by Delhi police. Delhi police has questioned him for two hours on his sources of income and what he does with his time?

Delhi police has alleged “concealment of evidence” against family members of Geelani who had taken home the clothes worn by Mr. Geelani at the time of attack and given by the doctors to them. Police has not bothered to answer as to where they were when the doctors had handed over the clothes to relatives of Mr. Geelani. Doctors were treating Mr. Geelani and not his relatives. Police could find the clothes in his house when they sought them. But that is hardly the matter. The moot point is obstructing the police investigation though in what way even the police does not know. Even if the police is guilty of its own inefficiency, the blame has to lie somewhere else. Can the King do any wrong?

 If one pieces together the innuendoes of the police the whole effort is to show that the shoot out was the handiwork of the victim, his advocate or others close to them. If this is not the case, the whole gamut of allegations is pointless. A single piece can shoot down the whole story of the Delhi police. Let Delhi police produce any sharpshooter who can pump two shots into the abdomen piercing intestines at 11 places while guaranteeing that no vital organ would be hit which can cause early death. Obviously Mr. Geelani had not travelled there to die. If that was his intention, there was no need for him to travel that far. Only the crooked imagination of Delhi police can imagine such a plot.

Delhi police has gone on to the offensive knowing the time honoured tactics that offence is the best form of defence. They want to discredit the victim so that their own involvement is not brought into question. And obviously they are backed by the prejudices of chauvinist sections (media not excluded) who regard the accused as guilty and have no regard for the democratic rights of the people. Lengthy exposure given by the media to the allegations (or shall we say the misinformation) levelled by the police has nothing to do with the right to information. Even the cursory precaution to check the facts or apply ordinary critical judgement is not being taken. It is enough that the police had said so.

How the police brow beats those who dare to challenge its version, is well known. One would not have forgotten the case of the doctor who had challenged the version of Delhi police in Ansal Plaza shoot-out. All his antecedents were unearthed and cases framed against him. He was prosecuted till he was silenced. Police took the honours and could not be deprived of so well prepared a broth by a self-proclaimed eye witness. How dare he see what he was not supposed to see? And if he had seen, what was his business to make it public? If he did not heed common sense, police had enough power to drill it into him. The doctor was silenced and the accolades rightfully belonged to police. Did not their elder brothers, the Armymen, do the same by faking killings on the border for the sake of medals; why so much fuss if police does the same here?

Mr. Geelani, his advocates and his friends have not come into the open with the travails Mr. Geelani has been forced to face, only now. Consistently there have been reports, press conferences, meetings, to detail how he was being followed, how he was hounded after release from jail by his landlord, by others, Delhi University’s unhelpful attitude towards him rather than doing all to facilitate his rehabilitation even after his acquittal. Rather the entire atmosphere has been as though he was a guilty, unfortunately let off by an erratic High Court judgement and the situation awaiting correction by the Supreme Court. The most recent instance was his being heckled into silence at a public meeting at JNU. ‘Left' student organizations are in office but his right to speech could not be publicly defended by those present.

It is well known how the police had treated Mr. Geelani during investigation in the Parliament attack case. His was brutally tortured which has been the first nature of police backed by an atmosphere that whatever be the rights given in the law of the land, no accused has a right to be treated humanely. The prescriptions of law on the rights of accused are treated with contempt by the very people who are supposed to implement them, as a necessary evil to project the democratic credentials of law which is good in print but counter-productive in practice. Such is the sweep of this undemocratic chauvinist propaganda that not many were prepared to open their mouth including fellow teachers of D.U. when Mr. Geelani was being ill-treated by police. Mr. Geelani was hung upside down for long period. Delhi police as police in other states as well have this firm belief that the head hanging down without support facilitates the coming out of truth from the mouth of the accused. They probably feel that this posture enables increased blood flow to brain helping accused to remember better!

But the matter does not end with police alone. Supreme Court which was seized with the matter, duly expressed its “grave concern” but entrusted the investigation to the same Delhi police which was accused of the crime! That too even after the advocate for Mr. Geelani, Mr. Ram Jethmalani, had stated in the Court the apprehension of the involvement of Special Branch of Delhi police, accusing Delhi Police of following Geelani, tapping his phones, not providing security and narrating attempts to kill Geelani while in custody at Tihar. Is it not like making an accused incharge of investigation of his own crime? Even if the allegation is ultimately not proved, does not the interest of justice and fair play demand that Delhi police be kept away from the investigation of this attack? But then our courts are courts of law, justice may be a by-product.

Equally if not more serious is the complicity of the Congress Govt. in the whole affair. Central and state govts. (both headed by Congress) did not question the conduct of the police, rather lent all support to them. Can any one believe (except the extremely gullible) that Delhi police has been doing all this without support from the ruling party? They did not bother to rein in police from going amuck against a private individual, devoid of means to protect himself and moreover hounded by different forces.

For Congress it is not surprising to act the way they are doing. But our ‘Left’ friends CPM and CPI who are giving their shoulders to roll the chariot of this govt. on, are meaningfully silent over the whole affair. So far they have acquiescenced in the misdemeanour of Delhi police not to be left behind in the holy crusade of national security. It should be an eye-opener to all those who wish to believe that these ‘Left’ parties’ support to the government, crucial as it is for its very survival, is forcing the Govt. to act democratically. Their conscience may not be overburdened as it is a case of a single individual. But little do they realize that all such cases give police the affront to deal with impunity which has become their wont. It is time they give up their pretensions, but will they? After all it is serving them well to enjoy power. And power of course is what they are after.