New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS) The Delhi Assembly Speaker, Vijender Gupta, on Tuesday referred the Punjab Police’s action in the Atishi video row to the House Committee of Privileges for a detailed probe, holding that a prima facie case of breach of privilege and contempt of the House was made out.
Taking cognisance of a complaint filed by Delhi Cabinet Minister Kapil Mishra, Gupta said the role of the Punjab Director General of Police and the Jalandhar Police Commissioner would be examined by the Privileges Committee.
The matter relates to the registration of an FIR by the Punjab Police on a complaint by Iqbal Singh over an allegedly edited or tampered video clip of statements made by Leader of Opposition Atishi on the floor of the Delhi Assembly on January 6, 2026.
After considering the reply submitted by the Punjab Police and Mishra’s complaint, the Speaker concluded that the issue directly concerns the proceedings of the House, which fall squarely within the domain of legislative privilege.
The press statement said that despite the Assembly Secretariat informing the Punjab Police that the Speaker and the House had already taken cognisance of the matter, an FIR was registered and public statements were made alleging tampering of Assembly proceedings.
The Speaker rejected as unsatisfactory the written explanations submitted by the Punjab DGP and the Jalandhar Police Commissioner, in which they claimed that the Punjab Police had acted as per law and the alleged acts were committed by persons outside the Delhi Assembly.
The press statement also said that despite repeated reminders, the Punjab Police failed to provide essential documents to the Delhi Assembly Secretariat, including copies of the complaint, FIR, the report of the Punjab Police’s social media expert, and the forensic report of the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).
It added that correspondence with the Punjab FSL Director revealed that the forensic report had been shared only with the concerned police officers.
As announced earlier in the House, the Speaker said an independent forensic report was obtained from the Delhi FSL, which established that the statements attributed to Atishi were indeed made on the floor of the House in line with the verbatim proceedings.
Rejecting the plea that the matter was sub judice, the press statement said the restrictions under the sub judice rule are self-imposed, limited in scope, and do not apply to cases involving breach of privilege.
The Speaker also took note of Mishra’s complaint alleging violation of Article 361A of the Constitution, which provides immunity from criminal proceedings for the publication of a substantially true report of legislative proceedings.
As per the press statement, the Privileges Committee has been directed to examine the conduct and actions of Iqbal Singh, the Punjab DGP, the Jalandhar Police Commissioner, the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Punjab, and other concerned persons, and to submit its report to the House in accordance with rules.
–IANS
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