The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has blasted Lieutenant Governor (LG) V.K. Saxena’s notification allowing police officers to depose from police stations via video conferencing, calling it a “mockery of the justice system.” AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said the order is “illegal and unconstitutional” and warned it would only embolden police to act arbitrarily under government pressure.
With all district courts in Delhi already on strike and even the High Court and Supreme Court bar associations opposing the move, the AAP Delhi Unit Chief demanded the LG withdraw the controversial order immediately.
Addressing a press conference alongside AAP Advocate Wing Delhi President Sanjeev Nasiar and other lawyers, AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj reminded that when the Central Government introduced the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the AAP Advocate Wing had raised critical questions and held discussions with the Union Home Ministry. The Home Secretary had given a written assurance that court evidence could not be presented from within police stations. “Despite this assurance, on August 13 the LG brought a notification stating that police officers will not appear in court to record statements but will do so sitting in their police stations. This is outright illegal, unconstitutional, and will completely destroy the justice system,” he said.
The AAP Delhi Unit Chief added that police were already accused of fabricating false cases under political pressure. Lawyers play a vital role in cross-examining police officers in court to expose inconsistencies in their testimony. “If a police officer sits in the station and records his statement via video conferencing, where will the oath be administered? How will lawyers conduct cross-examination? If a lawyer poses tough questions and the testimony begins to collapse, the officer can simply turn off the camera claiming the internet went down, and then reappear in the next hearing with a prepared answer. This notification is nothing but a mockery of justice,” Saurabh Bharadwaj asserted.
He further warned that if the LG could do this for police stations today, he might tomorrow extend the same provision to agencies like the CBI and ED, allowing them to testify from their offices. “This will open the door to massive manipulation. Already, district courts observed a three-day strike against this notification, which will continue until Monday. The Delhi High Court Bar Association has passed a resolution supporting the strike and demanding immediate withdrawal of the notification. Similarly, the Supreme Court Bar Association has also demanded the notification be withdrawn,” he said
Attacking the BJP government in Delhi, Saurabh Bharadwaj said no section of society had been spared from its assault. “The BJP targeted the middle class by triggering massive fee hikes in private schools. Long hours of power cuts returned. Their MLAs assault doctors and the police refuse to register FIRs. Now they are harassing lawyers. All district courts in Delhi are on strike against this notification, yet the media is giving it no coverage,” he added.
Speaking at the press conference, AAP Advocate Wing Delhi President Sanjeev Nasiar said institutions across the country had been systematically weakened for the past 10–11 years. “When the BNS was brought in, lawyers had strongly opposed it, leading to a strike across all Delhi courts. The Union Home Minister himself called a meeting in response. As an elected member of the Delhi Bar Council, I was present in that meeting. The Home Minister had assured us that objections raised would be considered. Later, a notification from the Home Ministry categorically stated that all testimonies would take place in court, and no police officer would be allowed to depose from a police station or any other place,” Sanjeev Nasiar said.
He explained that lawyers had objections to several provisions of the BNS, which had significantly increased police powers at the cost of citizens’ rights. “Lawyers are duty-bound to ensure justice for victims inside courtrooms. If, under this new notification, police officers are allowed to testify from their stations, it will severely weaken cross-examination, undermine the administration of oaths, and erode the foundations of justice. This is nothing less than a conspiracy to weaken the judicial system,” he said.
Sanjeev Nasiar stressed that under the Aam Aadmi Party’s government in Delhi, ordinary citizens felt secure from police excesses and were shielded from inflation. “Since the BJP government took over, incidents across Delhi and the changes being pushed into law nationwide have left the legal fraternity with no choice but to take to the streets. The AAP Legal Wing will stand firmly with the striking lawyers and force the Union Government and the LG to withdraw this notification,” he declared.
