The role of the District Magistrate needs to be clearly differentiated from the role of the Police Commissioner
The reiteration by the Supreme Court in the Shaheen Bagh case of the right to protest, within reasonable restrictions, helps in understanding the breakdown of public order in Delhi over a three-month period. There are two perspectives explaining the 16,000 calls to the police, 3,500 on one day, registration of 751 cases, 53 deaths, and destruction of property of over ₹20 crore and the initial charge sheet running into 17,000 pages against 15 people.
The Police Commissioner, responding to criticism of partisanship, rightly pointed out that the criminal justice system, with its inherent checks and balances, be allowed to work. The other perspective is that community-wide protest is not itself a crime and Delhi Police, having magisterial powers under the Criminal…