New Delhi, November 3: A Delhi assistant commissioner of police was suspended on Tuesday for leading a protest against the transfer of two officers following a face-off with lawyers in October. Assistant Commissioner of Police Manasvi Vashishtha was suspended for "violation of discipline", The Hindu reported.

Source: The Hindu via Madhyamam

On the same day, the Delhi High Court declined to initiate suo motu proceedings over the alleged conduct of the suspended officer, who is accused by lawyers of making threatening remarks against members of the legal profession. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma said the allegations could be examined once the lawyers placed the relevant documents and evidence before the court through its registry by filing a formal petition.

Source: Law Trend

From transfers to suspension

Around 150 police personnel had staged a protest outside the Delhi Police headquarters on Monday, demanding the reinstatement of Vashishtha and Station House Officer Arun Kumar. The personnel who protested raised five demands, including the reinstatement of the two officers and legal action against the lawyers accused of misbehaviour.

The dispute began on October 23, when advocate Lalit Bansal sustained a head injury during a scuffle with a salon owner inside Shahdara police station in east Delhi, The Indian Express reported. The Coordination Committee of All District Courts Bar Associations of Delhi alleged that Vashishtha and Kumar had assured action against the accused, but the committee later learnt that the man had been released. The committee further alleged that Vashishtha displayed a service revolver and threatened advocates who visited the police station on October 24. The police, meanwhile, alleged that a group of nearly 20 lawyers had misbehaved with the two officers. All of these claims remain allegations at this stage.

What the court was told

During the mentioning in the High Court, advocates drew the bench's attention to statements allegedly made against lawyers, including a reference to the use of an AK-47 and the expression "kale coat ke gunde" (goons in black coats). The bench emphasised that, as a court of record, it required material to be formally submitted before considering the matter, and assured the advocates their concerns would be examined on a proper petition.

District court lawyers had launched an indefinite strike on October 27 demanding action against the officers. Vashishtha, who was serving as the sub-divisional police officer in Gandhi Nagar, was transferred the following day to the Special Police Unit for Women and Children, while Inspector Arun Kumar, then Station House Officer of Shahdara police station, was moved to the security unit — after which the lawyers called off their strike. Monday's protest by police personnel revived the dispute, and the suspension and the High Court's direction now take it into departmental proceedings and, if the lawyers file their petition, into court.