Delhi court dismisses Ratna Singh’s police complaint on procedural grounds

A Delhi court dismissed Cockroach Janta Party legal head Ratna Singh’s application over alleged wrongful confinement on October 10, citing procedural defects without deciding the merits of her allegations.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Abhinav Pandey of Saket District Court said the application lacked an affidavit confirming the allegations and did not specify the exact location of the vehicle where Singh said police had prevented her from leaving.

The court also noted that the application did not identify the officers concerned. That omission prevented it from determining which superior officer should be asked for a report before an investigation could be ordered.

Singh told The Hindu that officers surrounded her car outside her Jangpura residence while she was with two other lawyers. She said she had been heading to a lawyers’ protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and that police had cited verbal orders.

The dismissal concerned whether the application could be considered in its submitted form. It did not establish that the alleged confinement was lawful or that Singh’s account was false.