The Greater Noida executive magistrate who issued a show-cause notice to a student over his alleged involvement in protests has been suspended, following an investigation into the matter.
According to Live Law, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that the magistrate had been suspended. The notice, issued after a police report, asked the student, Akshat Tripathi, to furnish a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh for allegedly instigating students to participate in a protest by the Cockroach Janata Party. If found guilty, the notice stated that Tripathi was 'spreading anti-government, misleading statements among other university students and provoking them', which could 'disrupt public peace'.
Tripathi had challenged the magistrate’s notice, stating that he had not been attending the university for the past three months due to work at the Allahabad High Court in July. The notice was withdrawn the following day after the allegations were investigated.
On Wednesday, a lawyer mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant. The chief justice directed the lawyer to formally place the notice before the court through a petition and said that an explanation would then be sought from the authority concerned. The chief justice also expressed concern over the magistrate's action, stating that no coercive action should be taken against any student and no magistrate could violate this order.
On September 1, the Supreme Court ordered that all first information reports registered across the country in connection with student protests held between July 20 and July 25 should not be pursued or investigated and must be treated as closed, except those involving persons with criminal antecedents. The government had told the court that no fresh FIRs would be registered in connection with the protests.
Source:
Scroll.in
