AIZAWL, April 30 - Taking suo moto cognizance of an incident in which local task force volunteers of Dinthar locality here beat up eight youths, the Aizawl Bench of the Gauhati High Court has sent a notice to the Aizawl DC and SP, asking them to submit a status report within two weeks.
The Court on Wednesday said that it had taken notice of the incident that occurred on the night of April 25, from news reports and a press statement issued by the Dinthar local-level task force on COVID-19. It remarked that there was a clear violation of Article 21 of the Constitution that protects life and personal liberty.
The local task force volunteers had nabbed the eight youths for alleged violation of lockdown restrictions and smoking of ganja, taken them in their custody, and beaten them up with canes. A video clip of the incident, secretly filmed by one of the victims, went viral on the social media.
Taking serious note of the use of physical force on the youths, the Court said, �No person or authority has the right to take the law into one�s own hands. If the youths were caught with ganja or violated lockdown curfew, they should have been handed over to the police. The illegal acts of the youths should not have been dealt with another illegal act, as two wrongs don�t make a right.�
The Court made the State Government of Mizoram, the chairman of the State-level task force on COVID-19, the Home Secretary, the Aizawl DC, the Aizawl SP, the Vaivakawn Police Station OC and the chairman of Dinthar local-level task force on COVID-19, respondents in the case.
