Delhi riots: Court dismisses plea over registration of FIR on mosque attack

A Delhi Court dismissed a revision plea filed by Delhi Police challenging the order for registration of FIR concerning a cylinder blast at Madina Masjid and an acid attack on the complainant.

The offence was allegedly done by the people of the Hindu community during 2020 Delhi riots. The case pertains to the area under Karawal Nagar police station. This complaint was clubbed with another FIR by the police.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Karkardooma Court Pulastya Pramachala dismissed the revision moved by the Delhi police.

Delhi Police had challenged the order passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) on November 19, 2022 directing the Station House Officer (SHO) Karawal Nagar to register an FIR.

While dismissing the revision, the ASJ said, "I do not find any illegality committed by the learned Metropolitan Magistrate while exercising his discretion to allow application under section 156 (3) CrPC."

Hence, no grounds are made out to interfere with the order of November 19, 2022, ASJ Pramachala said.

The court observed that it was not a case of two versions of the same incident. The excess number of complaints cannot be a ground to club all on several complaints without there being the proximity of time and place of the alleged crime, so as to show continuous action of the perpetrators.

The complainant Mohd Vakil filed a complaint namely seven persons in Karkardooma Court. In his complaint, he alleged that on February 25, 2020, persons from Hindu Community came to his locality, wherein a mosque namely "Madina Masjid" was situated adjacent to the house of the complainant. This mob burst a gas cylinder in that masjid.

He also alleged that a bottle full of acid was thrown towards him while he had taken shelter on the roof of his house with his family. The bottle hit him on his face and he lost his eyesight. The face of his daughter was also burnt in the incident.

Thereafter, the mob including the persons named in his complaint burnt his house by bursting a gas cylinder. They also took away household articles from his house, Mohd Vakil alleged.

On March 9, 2020 wife of the complainant lodged a complaint with the police, but her complaint was attached with another FIR of Karawal Nagar police station.

The complainant lodged a separate complaint to SHO Karawal Nagar police station and to the DCP(North East) on February 27, 2021. This complaint was made to plead registration of a separate case, rather than attaching his complaint in another FIR.

On the other hand, the order was challenged on the grounds that the trial court failed to consider that complaint of the complainant was clubbed with the FIR in accordance with the law and much effective investigation was going on. 14 FIR were registered again, then it will be a wastage of resources for the State, Delhi Police said.

The trial court made a mistake in not understanding that the complainant has no grievance against the police for ending the quality of investigation, DelhiPpolice submitted.

It was submitted by the Special public prosecutor that the trial court did not appreciate that the complainant himself had given a written statement before the police that no application was filed by him before the trial court, rather a group of lawyers had filed such an application on his behalf.

He also argued that the trial court failed to consider that during riots approximately 4,000 PCR calls were received at Karawal Nagar police station and 91 criminal cases were registered on the complaints of different complainants. Subsequently, a total of 1,848 complaints were received in Karawal Nagar police station regarding incidents of riots. Therefore, registration of separate FIR will open a pandora box for the others, the State argued.