New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a batch of petitions seeking an independent investigation, including a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe, into the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots and the 2019 violence at Jamia Millia Islamia during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
A division bench comprising Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain pronounced the decision and said that all the petitions were dismissed for the reasons set out in the judgment. The detailed written judgment has not yet been released.
What Were the Petitions About?
The petitions concerning the Northeast Delhi riots sought directions for an SIT, commission of inquiry or fact finding committee to investigate different aspects of the violence.
Some pleas also sought:
- Registration of FIRs against police officers allegedly responsible for wrongdoing.
- Investigation into alleged police inaction or excesses.
- Medical treatment and compensation for people affected by the violence.
- Investigation into allegations concerning political leaders and alleged hate speeches.
- An independent investigation rather than relying solely on the existing police investigation.
The petitions had been pending since 2020.
Petitions Against Political Leaders
- Some of the cases sought registration of FIRs against political leaders over speeches that petitioners alleged contributed to or incited the 2020 violence.
- The petitions named leaders from different political parties, with allegations being made against both ruling-party and opposition figures.
- These allegations were contested and were among the matters placed before the High Court. The court’s dismissal of the petitions does not by itself establish the truth or falsity of every allegation made in those petitions.
Brinda Karat and Police-Related Allegations
- One set of petitions, including a plea associated with former Rajya Sabha member Brinda Karat, sought investigation into alleged police inaction and alleged offences by police and other state functionaries during the riots.
- Another petition filed by Jamiat Ulama E Hind also sought investigation into allegations concerning the handling of the violence.
- The petitioners argued that an independent mechanism was required to examine the conduct of officials and other issues connected with the riots.
What About the Jamia Violence?
- A separate group of petitions concerned the violence at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019, during protests against the CAA.
- The petitioners included students who alleged that police personnel had used excessive force against students during the unrest.
- They sought an investigation by an agency independent of the Delhi Police and the Central Government.
- The Delhi Police had opposed transferring the investigation to an independent agency and maintained that relevant evidence, including CCTV footage, had been collected and preserved.
What Happened in the 2020 Delhi Riots?
- The Northeast Delhi violence erupted on February 24, 2020, amid protests and counter-protests connected with the CAA.
- According to reports, the violence resulted in at least 53 deaths and around 700 injuries.
- The events subsequently led to numerous criminal investigations, prosecutions and court proceedings.
Why Is Today’s Order Important?
- The petitions represented a long running effort to obtain an investigation outside the existing police mechanism into various allegations surrounding the riots and the Jamia violence.
- The High Court’s decision means that the specific petitions seeking an SIT, independent probe, FIRs and other reliefs have been dismissed.
- However, the detailed reasons for the dismissal are not yet available because the written judgment is awaited. Therefore, the precise legal reasoning behind the court’s decision should be assessed after the judgment is released.
What About Other Cases?
- Today’s dismissal concerns this particular batch of petitions. It does not mean that every case arising from the 2020 Delhi riots has been closed.
- Criminal cases, appeals and other proceedings connected with the riots continue separately before different courts.
- The High Court had earlier noted issues concerning judicial discipline because some matters involving similar requests were pending before the Supreme Court.
Bottom Line
- The Delhi High Court has dismissed the petitions seeking an SIT or other independent investigations into the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots and 2019 Jamia violence.
- The court has not yet released its detailed written judgment. Once the judgment is available, it will provide the court’s full reasons for rejecting the petitions.
Business Galaxy will update this report if the detailed judgment brings further clarification.
