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OUTRAGEOUS ASSAULT

THE OUTRAGEOUS ATTACK on S.A.R. Geelani is not merely "disturbing" as the Supreme Court has observed. It also raises the gravest of suspicions. It is well known that the acquittal of the Delhi University lecturer in the Parliament attack case — in which he was implicated on the flimsiest of grounds — caused considerable embarrassment and annoyance to those who had hoped the prosecution's case would stand up in its entirety. The identities of those who shot and seriously injured Mr. Geelani are yet unknown and their motives unclear. But the Delhi police, who obstinately pursued the case against him in the face of serious reservations expressed by eminent people within and without the legal fraternity, have a lot to answer for. Why did the police fail to provide Mr. Geelani with security? After all, the lecturer in Arabic was not implicated in any ordinary case, but in an extremely high profile one that aroused tremendous (often irrational and jingoistic) passions.

Moreover, as his lawyers have pointed out, Mr. Geelani himself expressed apprehensions about a threat to his life in an affidavit submitted recently in court. It is pertinent to recall that Mr. Geelani has repeatedly maintained he was also the victim of several attacks "with blades, knife and even poisoning" during the 23 months he spent in Delhi's Tihar jail. The Delhi police's explanation — that he was not provided with security because he did not ask for it — is weak and unconvincing. Security is offered on the basis of threat perceptions; it is not something that is handed out on request. The Supreme Court, which has asked the Delhi police to submit a report on the assault and the progress of the investigation, has shown the required urgency about getting to the bottom of this murky and deeply disturbing incident. However, the Court would have done even better had it accepted the plea made by Mr. Geelani's counsel and entrusted the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The entire circumstances surrounding the case call for a probe that is not only sincere and independent but that is also perceived, in the eyes of an increasingly wary and suspicious public, to be so. It is arguable that having failed to protect Mr. Geelani, the Delhi police have morally forfeited the right to investigate who attempted to kill him and why.

The All India Defence Committee for Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, which is headed by the distinguished social scientist, Rajni Kothari, and with dedicated human rights activists and social workers as members, has been in the forefront of highlighting the grave injustice done to him. Its efforts were rewarded last year when the Delhi High Court acquitted Mr. Geelani on the ground that the prosecution had failed to provide any evidence against him in critical areas. There was nothing to suggest that Mr. Geelani was in touch with the five terrorists killed in the attack, nothing to show he had a role in arranging hideouts or in procuring arms and explosives used in pursuance of the conspiracy. As a result, the Court concluded that the prosecution's case "did not even remotely, far less definitely and unerringly, point towards the guilt of the accused S.A.R. Gilani" (State vs. Mohd Afzal and Others, 2003). In arriving at this conclusion, the Court overturned an extremely ill-reasoned judgment of the designated POTA court, which made a string of presumptions in favour of the prosecution and convicted and sentenced Mr. Geelani to death. The final verdict in his case will be delivered by the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, it is the responsibility of the state to keep him safe, secure, and out of harm's way.

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