Lawyers urged the Delhi High Court to act suo motu against suspended ACP Manasvi Vashishta. The bench required a formal petition and supporting material before examining the allegations.Image used for representational purposes onlyNewdelhi,Nov 3, 2026 13:36 ISTA group of lawyers on Tuesday urged the Delhi High Court to take suo motu cognisance of the conduct of Delhi Police Assistant Commissioner of Police Manasvi Vashishta, who has been suspended for allegedly threatening lawyers, news agency Press Trust of India reported.A bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma declined to initiate proceedings on its own and asked the lawyers to file a formal petition along with all available material.“You file a formal petition.
We are a court of record, and we must have something before us. What is suo motu?
We are telling you whatever material is there with you, give it in the form of a petition and submit it with the registry so that it can be brought before the court for looking into it. Do it, and we will look into it,” the bench told the lawyers.The advocates told the court that remarks such as “use of AK-47” and “kale coat ke gunde”, or goons in black coats, had been directed at lawyers. “You are our chief.
If you take suo motu cognisance of the issue, we will be assured,” one of the lawyers submitted.According to PTI, the controversy began with an October 23 incident at Shahdara police station, where advocate Lalit Bansal allegedly suffered a serious head injury during a scuffle. The incident was followed by a confrontation between lawyers and police personnel at the police station.
Lawyers from district courts then began an indefinite strike, which was later called off.Delhi Police on October 28 transferred Vashishta, who was posted as the sub-divisional police officer in Gandhi Nagar, to the Special Police Unit for Women and Children. Inspector Arun Kumar, who was the station house officer of Shahdara police station at the time, was transferred to the security unit.The transfers followed demands from lawyers for action against police officers allegedly responsible for the assault on Bansal and the subsequent confrontation at the police station.
The lawyers called off their strike after the transfers.The controversy intensified on Monday when Vashishta and a group of Delhi Police personnel protested outside the police headquarters against the transfers. Remarks about lawyers were also made during the demonstration.Vashishta was subsequently suspended by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Delhi High Court has asked the lawyers to place their allegations and supporting material before it through a formal petition.- Ends