- Delhi Police have not yet received any order to withdraw paper leak protest cases
- Assault cases filed by journalists will remain active and not be withdrawn
- Government had assured protesters no legal action would be taken earlier
The Delhi Police are yet to receive any government order to withdraw the cases linked to the massive paper leak protest, sources have said. If such an order is issued, they added, legal proceedings will follow and the courts will take a call on the matter. They, however, clarified that assault cases filed by journalists will not be taken back.
The government had earlier assured the students who were protesting at Jantar Mantar that no legal action would be taken against them. A similar assurance was also provided to activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had then ended his hunger strike.
The cases pertain to the violence at Jantar Mantar on July 20 when a march was taken out to Parliament to press for Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as education minister.
At least 20 cases were registered in connection with the violence and other related incidents, police said. Of these, 14 were linked to violence, one involved flying a drone without permission, and the rest were filed by journalists alleging assault. Cases filed by journalists will not be withdrawn, officials added.
For other cases, sources said, once the government issues an order, the prosecution will write to the lieutenant governor stating that they don't intend to pursue any further action.
Subsequently, an approval will be sought, after which the police will inform the relevant courts that they don't wish to proceed with the prosecution of these cases, sources said.
It will then be up to the court to issue further orders regarding the matter, they added.
