The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to hear a petition seeking a court-monitored oversight committee to supervise every stage of the trial in the Red Fort blast case, saying the request was based only on apprehension since the trial had not begun.
Petitioner Dr Pankaj Pushkar had sought day-to-day hearings and monthly status reports to be filed before a court-appointed committee. But the bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said such concerns did not qualify as grounds for a writ.
“It is a good piece of essay and not writ petition. You have to differentiate between a writ petition and a piece of research paper. We are not sitting here to entertain your ideas and suggestions,” the bench said. “We are sitting here to entertain a petition where you are able to show infringement of any of your fundamental rights or constitutional provisions or any other legally enforceable rights.”
After some arguments, the petitioner’s counsel sought permission to withdraw the plea.
“At least don’t waste the court’s time. We understand a situation where it is pending for years but the trial has not started yet,” the bench added. When the petitioner’s counsel said he needed “some assurance” that there would be no delay, citing other terror-related cases, the court said the trial would conclude only when it commenced—and that stage had not yet come.
During the hearing, the additional solicitor general, representing the Centre, said the plea is misconceived and the petitioner is not even aware that the Red Fort blast case is no longer with Delhi Police but has been transferred to the National Investigation Agency.
The blast took place in a car near Red fort on November 10 that claimed 15 lives.
The plea said an attack on the Red Fort is not an ordinary crime - it is an assault on the soul of India, on the republic's living symbol of sovereignty where the nation reaffirms its constitutional identity every Independence Day.
The targeted nature of this terror act is designed to destabilise national morale, induce widespread fear and weaken the authority of the republic, it said.
The petition said that the victims' families remain in complete darkness as they do not know why their loved ones were killed or which "forces" orchestrated the attack.
"Despite official assurances, only judicial supervision can guarantee that evidence is preserved, agencies cooperate, witnesses are protected, and the investigation aims not only at identifying the perpetrators but also at uncovering the purpose and intent behind the attack - information the victims are constitutionally entitled to," the plea said.