The Delhi High Court has issued notices to PWD Minister Parvesh Verma and the Delhi government after an Aam Aadmi Party worker, Sahib Singh, sought an impartial investigation and police protection in connection with an alleged assault during a road inspection in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar. The court has also directed the police to file a status report on the case.
Justice Sachin Datta passed the direction on Singh’s petition, according to Live Hindustan – NCR. The petition seeks an investigation into the incident and protection for the petitioner. The report does not specify the deadline fixed by the court for the police status report or the next date of hearing.
The incident took place during a road inspection in Tilak Nagar, where Verma, Delhi’s Public Works Department minister, allegedly slapped 22-year-old Singh after an argument. Police subsequently registered a non-cognisable report against Verma in connection with the incident, the report said.
The court’s intervention places the police response and the conduct of public officials during civic inspections under judicial scrutiny. Road inspections are intended to monitor public works and construction quality, but the reported confrontation has also triggered competing claims about what led to the altercation.
Singh’s petition alleges that the matter requires an impartial investigation. The report said he also sought police protection. The court’s request for a status report means the police will have to place the current position of the inquiry before the bench.
Verma has said that Singh abused his family, after which he reacted in anger. He also said that such a response should not have happened. The minister further alleged that there had been interference in government work and claimed that AAP MLA Jarnail Singh had pressured a Public Works Department engineer to facilitate contact with a contractor and sought a commission. These allegations were attributed to Verma in the report and have not been established by the court’s order described in the supplied material.
Jarnail Singh has denied the allegations through his actions and public statements, according to the report. The AAP MLA filed a defamation case against Verma and demanded an apology for the alleged slapping incident. AAP leaders, including former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi unit president Saurabh Bhardwaj, had called for criminal action against the minister.
The case now involves three connected administrative questions: the status of the police inquiry, the protection sought by the petitioner and the response of the minister and the Delhi government to the High Court’s notices. The police status report and the parties’ replies will determine the next procedural step in the proceedings.
