Delhi Speaker issues notice to senior Punjab cops over FIR in Assembly video

Delhi Assembly issues notices to Punjab police after FIR against minister Kapil Mishra over alleged doctored video of AAP leader Atishi.

New Delhi

“Misuse of House for political ambitions will not be tolerated,” Speaker Vijender Gupta said. (Delhi Government)

A day after Punjab Police registered an FIR against Delhi minister Kapil Mishra and others over an alleged doctored video clip of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi from Delhi Assembly Winter Session proceedings, the Delhi Legislative Assembly Secretariat on Saturday issued formal notices to the Director General of Police (DGP) of Punjab, special DGP of cyber cell, and the police commissioner of Jalandhar, Punjab.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Speaker Vijender Gupta, said, “The DGP Punjab, police commissioner Jalandhar, and special DGP cyber cell, Punjab, have been issued notices and given 48 hours to submit their written explanations along with all relevant documents in response.”

The notices, accessed by HT, state that the House has already sent the video clip for forensic examination and to the committee of privileges.

“In such a situation wherein, the Hon’ble Speaker and the House is seized of the matter which is exclusively within the domain of the privileged House, the House has expressed grave concern over the action of the Punjab Police,” the notice reads, further seeking a detailed explanation along with relevant documents from the authorities concerned.

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav and commissioner of police Dhanpreet Kaur didn’t reply to repeated calls and texts, seeking comment on the privilege notices issued by the Delhi Assembly. However, a senior functionary of Punjab Police disclosed that it has been decided to take legal opinion from the experts of the state government about how to deal with the notices.

“Misuse of House for political ambitions will not be tolerated,” Gupta said, adding that any recording of proceedings inside the House is the exclusive property of the Assembly and “does not belong to any political party, individual, or external agency”.

He said that, at the demand of the Opposition and to ensure complete transparency and fairness, the video clip has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, and emphasised that anyone found involved in this “conspiracy” will face the strictest possible action by the House.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in response to the Delhi Assembly Speaker’s move to invoke privilege over a forensic examination of a House video, called it a misplaced attempt to intimidate the Opposition.

AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Vijender Gupta is indeed the Speaker of the Assembly, but it appears that he does not have correct information about privilege proceedings... Statements made inside the Assembly enjoy protection under privilege. However, once the proceedings are telecast and become publicly available, whether they are the property of an Assembly or of Parliament, they are open to criticism as well as appreciation.”