Delhi High Court addresses police accountability and CBI misconduct

The Delhi High Court is overseeing several legal matters involving law enforcement and government accountability. In one case, the court sought a status report from the Delhi Police regarding a plea from an AAP worker who alleges he was assaulted and threatened by PWD Minister Parvesh Verma during a road inspection in Tilak Nagar.

Regarding police technology, the court directed the government to decide within six months on a public interest litigation seeking a standard operating procedure for the mandatory use of body-worn cameras by Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force personnel during protests and crowd-control operations. The petitioner argued that such technology is essential for transparency and fixing accountability.

In a separate matter, the court ordered criminal proceedings against six Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers for allegedly making a materially false statement in court during a 2016 case involving an IRS officer. Additionally, the Supreme Court has deferred a hearing on a plea from the Punjab government challenging a CBI probe into corruption allegations involving an official linked to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

Finally, the Delhi government has issued directives to top officers, requiring them to seek prior approval from the Chief Minister or relevant ministers before proceeding on any form of leave to address issues of non-compliance.