Delhi High Court Dismisses Petitions for FIRs on Hate Speech
The Delhi High Court has rejected 15 petitions calling for FIRs against politicians for alleged hate speech linked to the 2020 riots.
The court dismissed petitions seeking FIRs against political leaders for speeches during the 2020 Delhi riots.
The riots resulted in over 50 fatalities and significant communal violence in northeast Delhi.
Petitions included calls for investigations into police conduct and financing of protests.
On Monday, the Delhi High Court dismissed 15 petitions that sought the registration of First Information Reports (FIRs) against various political leaders for their alleged hate speeches connected to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. The petitions also called for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter, which petitioners argued had incited violence during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The bench, consisting of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain, ruled against the petitions that were filed in the aftermath of the riots, which resulted in over 50 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The petitions included demands for accountability from police officials accused of failing to act during the violence. One notable petition was submitted by Shaikh Mujtaba, targeting BJP leaders such as Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, and Parvesh Verma, who were accused of making incendiary remarks that contributed to the unrest.
During a rally prior to the riots, Anurag Thakur was reported to have incited the crowd with slogans urging violence against anti-CAA protesters. In a similar vein, Parvesh Verma warned that the situation faced by Kashmiri Pandits could be replicated in Delhi, alleging that protesters might threaten the safety of local residents. Other petitions named prominent Congress and AAP leaders, as well as AIMIM chief Akbaruddin Owaisi, seeking accountability for their roles in the unrest.
In addition to the calls for action against political figures, some petitions demanded an independent inquiry into police misconduct and the role of the Rapid Action Force during the riots. Another petition sought an investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the alleged funding of the protests against the CAA.
The communal clashes that erupted on February 24, 2020, marked one of the most severe instances of communal violence in Delhi in recent years. The violence was characterized by widespread arson and vandalism, leaving a lasting impact on the community and raising questions about the safety and security of citizens in the capital.
