New Delhi
The dare to chant “Bharat Mata ki jai” as a test of patriotism today found its way into a court hearing involving Kashmiri separatist Shabbir Shah, prompting the judge to warn the Enforcement Directorate counsel that the courtroom was “not a TV studio”.
“He (Shah) must chant ‘Bharat Mata ki jai‘,” ED counsel Rajiv Awasthi insisted rather unusually during the hearing of a money-laundering case at Delhi’s Patiala House Courts.
Additional sessions judge Sidharth Sharma was quick to hand Awasthi a rap on the knuckles.
“This (the courtroom) is not a TV studio. If you want to say these things, you should sit in a TV studio,” the judge said, asking Awasthi to maintain decorum and argue the case on merit.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court allowed the ED plea and extended Shah’s remand by another six days. The central agency had told the court that Shah was using foreign money to fund terror in India, and needed to be confronted with his associates.
Outside the courtroom, Shah’s counsel M.S. Khan expressed shock at Awasthi’s move.
“I was arguing that my client was a political leader in Kashmir and had complete faith in the judiciary and the Constitution. Suddenly, the ED counsel turned emotional and asked my client to chant ‘Bharat Mata ki jai‘ to prove his loyalty to the nation,” Khan said.
“If the Constitution makes it mandatory to chant ‘Bharat Mata ki jai‘ to prove one’s nationalist credentials, then we will all do it. But what kind of precedent was my lawyer friend trying to set? I’m thankful that the judge immediately intervened and pulled him up.”
Contacted by this newspaper, Awasthi justified his action saying it was just “lawyers’ craft”.
“I turned very emotional when Shah’s counsel tried to glorify him by insisting that his client had complete faith in Indian law and the Constitution,” he said.
“I drew on my craft and skills as a lawyer to immediately ask the accused to chant ‘Bharat Mata ki jai‘ to prove his counsel’s point.”
But hadn’t the judge admonished him for his act? “Yes, he told me not to turn the court into a TV studio,” Awasthi conceded, “but I think there was nothing wrong in what I had said. It was a spontaneous reaction. Where’s the controversy?”
The ED had arrested Shah on July 25 in connection with a 2005 case accusing him of laundering money to finance terrorism.
During today’s proceedings, Khan alleged that Shah was being coerced in custody to make a confession.
On Wednesday, the court had extended Shah’s remand by a day after the ED had pleaded it needed to question him further.
On July 24, the National Investigation Agency had arrested several Kashmiri separatists in connection with allegations that money received from Pakistan was being used to fund violence, including the stoning of security forces and torching of schools and government buildings.
