Delhi High Court rejects pleas against politicians over 2020 riots hate speech

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a series of petitions seeking the registration of First Information Reports (FIRs) against various political leaders regarding alleged hate speeches linked to the 2020 North-East Delhi riots. The petitions named several prominent figures from multiple parties, including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Manish Sisodia, Asaduddin Owaisi, Anurag Thakur, Kapil Mishra, and Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain also rejected requests for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe alleged police atrocities at Jamia Millia Islamia during 2019 protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Regarding the investigation into the riots, which resulted in over 50 deaths, the Court stated there was no material to conclude that the Delhi Police had acted to compromise the probe or that the entire investigative machinery was institutionally incapable of a fair investigation. The Bench noted that transferring the investigation to a separate agency after six years would impact numerous ongoing criminal cases.