The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the city police to place before it the current status of the investigation into the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, noting that several petitions have remained pending for six years despite an available alternate legal remedy.
A bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain, hearing a batch of pleas related to the February 2020 communal violence, observed that the petitioners had not approached the magistrate court despite repeatedly alleging improper or biased investigation.
The bench was considering petitions seeking FIRs against political leaders for alleged hate speeches, the formation of a special investigation team, and requests for independent probes into the riots that claimed at least 53 lives and left more than 700 injured.
When one of the counsel pointed to the deaths that occurred during the violence, the court responded that FIRs had already been filed. “Since the police are investigating the cases, nothing remains in these petitions,” the bench remarked. The lawyer insisted that the investigation was not fair and sought a court-monitored probe.
Rejecting the request, the bench said the petitioners should pursue the statutory route. “You challenge it before the magistrate. The magistrate will supervise. These are questions of facts. We cannot entertain questions of facts in writ petitions. You can give that evidence to the magistrate, who will look into it and pass orders. The high court cannot do this,” it said.
The judges also questioned why the petitioners had not used the alternate remedy for six years. “These petitions are pending for so long for no good reason. FIRs have been registered and the police are investigating,” the court noted.
Listing the matter for November 21, the bench asked the counsel for Delhi Police to submit the status of the probe and the number of FIRs filed so far.
The court is seized of several petitions connected to the riots. These include:
- A PIL by Shaikh Mujtaba Farooq seeking FIRs against BJP leaders Anurag Thakur, Kapil Mishra, Parvesh Verma, and Abhay Verma for alleged hate speeches.
- A plea by Lawyers Voice seeking police action against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manish Sisodia, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, AIMIM leaders Akbaruddin Owaisi and Warris Pathan, activists Mehmood Pracha, Harsh Mander, Swara Bhasker, Umar Khalid, former Bombay High Court judge B.G. Kolse Patil and others.
- A petition by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind demanding an SIT for an independent investigation.
- A plea by Ajay Gautam seeking an NIA probe under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to identify “anti-national forces” allegedly behind the anti-CAA protests.
Delhi Police has earlier informed the court that three SITs under the Crime Branch were already probing the cases, and there was no evidence that its officers or political leaders instigated or participated in the violence.
The police maintain that the violence was not spontaneous but part of a “well thought-out conspiracy to destabilise the harmony in the society”, and that authorities acted “promptly, vigilantly and effectively” to protect life and property.
They told the court that 757 FIRs were registered, investigation was pending in 273 cases, and trials were underway in 250.
In December 2021, the Supreme Court had requested the high court to expeditiously decide a plea seeking registration of FIRs against politicians accused of delivering hate speeches before the riots.
