The Delhi High Court has made it clear that Additional DCP Sandeep Lamba, who has been accused of slapping a woman protester at Jantar Mantar, will not be removed from the court-monitored investigation for now. Hearing the matter on Tuesday, the court dismissed the plea seeking his removal.
What triggered the controversy
On July 20, chaos broke out at Jantar Mantar in Delhi during the Cockroach Janata Party's 'Chalo Sansad' march. Amid the commotion, a video surfaced showing ADCP Sandeep Lamba allegedly slapping a woman protester. The clip went viral on social media within hours, triggering widespread outrage. The backlash was strong enough that Sandeep Lamba was pulled off protest duty at Jantar Mantar the very next day.
Why the case reached the High Court
The petition was filed by a 68 year old woman whose case has nothing to do with the slapping incident itself. She had alleged that Delhi Police forcibly removed her from her home during Ramzan last year and kept her in unlawful custody overnight. The High Court had already ordered an independent probe into her complaint, and that investigation was being monitored by ADCP Sandeep Lamba. After the Jantar Mantar video surfaced, she approached the court seeking to have the probe transferred from Sandeep Lamba to another officer, arguing that she had lost faith in his impartiality.
The woman's lawyer's arguments
Her lawyer argued that a uniformed officer had been seen slapping a woman in broad daylight, and that this alone raised serious apprehensions of bias in her case. The petitioner also alleged that Sandeep Lamba had earlier tried to close the investigation without recording her statement, after which the court had to step in and direct him to record it.
What Justice Girish Kathpalia said
Dismissing the plea, Justice Girish Kathpalia said the officer's image could not be tarnished merely because a video allegedly showed him slapping a woman. He asked whether anyone truly knew the ground reality of that moment, that is, how volatile the situation actually was at the time. Driving the point home, Justice Kathpalia said, "If the mob had stormed Parliament, if there had been firing and several people had died, what then?"
Court says right to protest has limits
The court further observed that while citizens have a fundamental right to protest, that does not extend to causing harm to a seat of sovereignty like Parliament. Justice Kathpalia added that even if this was a case of abuse of power, Sandeep Lamba could not be defamed on that basis alone, and that he, like anyone else, was entitled to a fair hearing and a fair investigation. The judge also noted that even if the officer is eventually found guilty, it would not be correct to assume that he acts wrongly or with bias in every matter. In other words, allegations arising from a single incident cannot be used to question an officer's entire conduct.
What the court finally ruled
After hearing all the arguments, the High Court dismissed the woman's plea and did not remove Sandeep Lamba from monitoring the investigation into her 68 year old complaint. This means the probe into the alleged unlawful detention during Ramzan will continue under ADCP Sandeep Lamba's supervision for now, while the separate questions raised against him over the Jantar Mantar slapping incident remain unaddressed by the court at this stage.
