Nido Tania’s father files plea, CBI reply sought

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Friday asked CBI to respond to a plea filed by Nido Tania’s father opposing dropping of the SC/ST Act against the four men who beat him to death.
Nido Pavitra, Tania’s father, is a Congress legislator from Arunachal Pradesh.
Justice Manmohan Singh has also issued notice to the four accused Farman, Pawan, Sunder Singh and Sunny Uppal, seeking their reply on Pavitra’s plea against the trial court’s decision.The court has directed Tihar jail superintendent to serve court notice on Farman, who is in judicial custody, and the other three accused who are out on bail. They have to respond by April 22.
In his plea, Pavitra has sought quashing of the September 25, 2014, order of the sessions court which had held that no charge could be framed against the accused under the relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The plea questioned the trial court’s decision saying it went by wrong interpretation of the law and refused to frame charges against the accused under the provisions of the SC/ST Act despite the fact that the entire assault, which resulted in the untimely demise of a young man, was “unequivocally and clearly motivated by the accused perceiving him as belonging to Scheduled Tribe”.
Tania, 19, was a BA first-year student at a private university here. He had altercation with some shopkeepers at Lajpat Nagar market on January 29, 2014, after they made fun of his hairstyle. Following the altercation, the shopkeepers allegedly thrashed him. He was brought dead to AIIMS the next day.
His death had evoked outrage among people from Northeast living in the national capital. They alleged that police had failed to protect him. Initially, the police had booked the four accused under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC after the postmortem report showed that Tania died due to injuries on his head and face caused by a blunt object. The agency had also invoked charges under the SC/ST Act.
However, during filing of the chargesheet, CBI had dropped the murder charges against the accused, saying Tania’s killing was not premeditated, but a result of an altercation over breaking of a glass counter of a shop in the market. Three minors, who had also allegedly assaulted Tania, are facing an inquiry before the Juvenile Justice Board.