President-forwarded AWMELA petition on Batla House ‘untraceable’ at Home Ministry

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,

New Delhi: Two weeks after the President of India forwarded it to the Union Home Ministry for further action, the petition by the Association for Welfare, Medical, Educational and Legal Assistance (AWMELA) on the Batla House encounter seems to have been lost at the ministry.


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AWMELA, a group of eminent residents of Azamgarh, had on 27th August 2009 submitted an online petition with the Secretariat of the President of India Pratibha Patil seeking her intervention for constitution of a fast track court to trial the Azamgarh youths arrested following the Batla House encounter and made accused for Delhi, Jaipur and Ahmedabad serial blasts. In the petition AWMELA had reasoned its demand for a fast track court by saying that the normal court procedure in the case will eat the entire life of these youths as they are facing average 40 cases and their charge sheets spread in several thousand pages.



The petition was registered as PRSEC/E/2009/05705 and transferred to Mr. K.C. Jain, Joint Secretary, Home Ministry, on 28th August. The petitioner was asked by the office of the President to contact Joint Secretary Jain after one week to enquire about the update on the petition.

When accordingly the petitioners contacted the Joint Secretary on his given official telephone No. 23092392 they found an ordeal was awaiting them. They were virtually pushed from desk to desk in the ministry which is now headed by sincere Home Minister P Chidambaram. From the desk of the Joint Secretary Jain the petitioners were directed to contact Mr. J.P. Sharma on the telephone No. 23093148. They told the details to one Ms Sudha Wadhwa on that telephone No. then they were asked to talk to Mr. Balram, head coordination in the ministry.

When the petitioners contacted Mr Balram on September 11, he announced: Petition is not traceable and you may report or do whatever you like.

Will Home Minister P Chidambaram mind telling the petitioners as to where they should go from here?

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