Court directs police to allow lawyers to meet detainees

A Delhi court has come to the rescue of 40 people detained in connection with a violent protest in Daryaganj, by directing Delhi police to allow lawyers to meet the detainees and provide them legal remedies.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Arul Verma issued the directions to the station house officer of the Daryaganj police station late Friday night when lawyers approached him at his residence, seeking permission to meet the detainees.

Advocates Kriti Awasthi and Aditya Pujari submitted before the chief metropolitan magistrate that some people, including minors, were detained at the police station and they could not meet the area metropolitan magistrate or the duty magistrate.

Verma further directed the SHO to provide necessary medical care to the detainees who were injured.

The judge also pulled up Delhi Police for detaining minors, saying if there be any minor who is allegedly in conflict with the law, he or she ought not to be detained in the first instance and they should be, if the need arises, dealt with as per the provisions of the law.

"Detention of minor in a police station is a flagrant violation of the law," the judge said.

Later, police said eight minors, detained on Friday, have been released.

Advocate Pujari said it should be made clear that lawyers did not go to Daryaganj in Old Delhi to protest against the new law.

"We were there just to provide legal remedies. The minors were released last night after verifying their documents," the lawyer told PTI.

He further said the lawyers were there till early in the morning and provided all possible legal aid to those detained.

Fifteen people have been arrested in connection with the violence in Daryaganj, police said on Saturday.

The arrested have been charged with rioting and using force to deter policemen from doing duty, they said.

The protesters had set ablaze a private car parked at Subhash Marg area on Friday evening, police said.