Delhi court sets aside probe order against Kapil Mishra in 2020 riots case

Yamuna Vihar resident Mohammad Ilyas sought an FIR against Kapil Mishra, alleging he saw the BJP leader blocking a road and damaging carts during the 2020 riots in Delhi's Kardampuri area

A sessions court in Delhi on Monday set aside a trial court order that had directed Delhi Police to investigate Delhi Law Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra’s alleged role in the 2020 North-east Delhi riots, Bar and Bench reported.

 

Special Judge (PC Act) Dig Vinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts quashed the order issued on April 1 by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Vaibhav Chaurasiya.

 

The order had been passed on a plea filed by Mohammad Ilyas, a resident of Yamuna Vihar. Ilyas had sought the registration of an FIR against Mishra, alleging that he had participated in the riots.

 

 

According to Ilyas, he saw Mishra and others blocking a road in Kardampuri, Northeast Delhi, and damaging vendors’ carts during the violence. He also claimed that a senior Delhi Police officer was present beside Mishra at the time.   

 

Magistrate had questioned police investigation

 

In his earlier order, Magistrate Chaurasiya had raised doubts about the Delhi Police’s investigation into the alleged conspiracy behind the riots. He noted that the police’s theory that the violence was a pre-planned conspiracy by anti-CAA protesters was based on “questionable assumptions, guesswork and interpretations".

 

The police had claimed that the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests were not spontaneous but were used as a front to carry out organised violence in the city, Bar and Bench reported.

 

“Once these flaws are outlined, therefore the theory goes off and so does the lens with which prosecution seeks to interpret the facts,” the Magistrate had observed.

 

He also said that several of the police’s interpretations, such as the argument that women were placed at the forefront of the protests to provoke restraint by police forces, could be seen differently.

 

Both Kapil Mishra and the Delhi Police had challenged the Magistrate’s order before the sessions court. On April 9, the sessions court stayed the directive for further investigation. On Monday, the court quashed the order entirely, bringing the matter to a close.

 

The 2020 Delhi riots

 

The North-east Delhi riots took place between February 24 and 26, 2020, amid clashes between pro- and anti-CAA groups. The violence left 53 people dead, over 500 injured, and caused widespread damage to property.