Delhi HC dismisses PIL seeking constitution of SIT to probe Chandni Chowk Temple attack

The Delhi High Court today dismissed a Public Interest Litigation seeking the constitution of a court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the attack on an old Durga Temple in New Delhi’s Chandni Chowk on June 30..The PIL was dismissed by a Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar for being premature. The Bench stated,.“Three FIRs have already been registered. Investigation is going on.”.The Court also recorded that pursuant to the FIR, seven persons had already been arrested and are currently in judicial custody..“(It is the petitioner’s expectation that) overnight the culprits be arrested and action be taken. The expectations are too high…Criminal law is set in motion…we see no reason to appoint an SIT.”.The Court further noted that it has become a fashion to prefer PILs after reading newspaper reports..“Nothing can be done overnight even by efficient institutions. Breathing time ought to be given.”.With these observations, the plea was dismissed..The petition was preferred by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, who had submitted..“there seems to be a deeply rooted conspiracy in the aforesaid heinous act of attack on Hindu Temple in order to flare-up the communal disharmony in the area, which is required to be immediately investigated through a Special Investigation Team (SIT), duly monitored by this Hon’ble Court.”.Terming the incident “sad and unfortunate”, the petitioner had further sought stringent action against the perpetrators..The petitioner had submitted that the attack on the temple in the national capital’s Chandni Chowk had hurt the. religious sentiments of crores of people across the country..It was also claimed that the real culprits were still roaming free..The petitioner also sought the formulation of suitable guidelines to avoid similar attacks on other religious places of worships. Such attacks, the petitioner claims, have “wider ramifications”, affecting communal harmony and peace in our society.