Court asks for ATR from cops on plea against Prashant Bhushan

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court today asked police to apprise it of the steps taken by it on a plea for lodging a criminal case against key Team Anna member and noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan for supporting plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir and demanding withdrawal of Army from there.

Metropolitan Magistrate Purshotam Pathak directed Central Delhi deputy commissioner of police to submit to it by July 12 an action-taken-report on the complaint against Bhushan filed by one Vibhor Anand, a law student.

In his plea, Anand had sought directions to the police for registration of the FIR against Prashant Bhushan for his alleged remarks on the status of Kashmir and withdrawal of Army from the region.

Complainant's counsel V K Anand also told the court that Bhushan made the comments with "a malafide intention and sole motive to create panic among the masses and to disturb the Constitutional set up."

Terming as "offending" Bhushan's comment on plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the police should register an FIR against Bhushan for sedition.

Bhushan had triggered a controversy by supporting the idea of holding plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir following which he was attacked by three youths belonging to a right-wing group in his chamber on October 12 last year.

Responding to the law student's complaint against him, Prashant Bhushan's office earlier had said in a statement, "In a democracy, everyone has a right to expresses their views on all issues. Just because the issue concerns Kashmir, it does not mean that it becomes out of bounds for a reasoned discussion."