Delhi High Court asks the city police to give an update on the number of cases slapped for the riots that erupted in Delhi’s national capital in February 2020. The court, in its finding, also noted that above 750 FIRs were registered after the incident, with 273 of those still going through investigations. Passing the order, the apex court directed the Delhi police to produce a fresh status report within 10 days.
On February 24, 2020, the delirious riots started in northeast Delhi after supporters of the citizenship law disbanded the protesters. The violence increased at this point, and about 53 people were killed, while about 700 others sustained injuries at the end of it all.
In the want of the court, the public interest litigation (PIL) organization Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind which sought the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will carry out the inquiry into the riots was in the hearing. The petitioner urged the SIT to be created specifically for the cases where the charge sheets had never been filed earlier.
While the court was deeply concerned about the protracted period of the cases, it had two questions in mind regarding the reasons for such delays. That we are not mentioning 2020 or 2024, instead it is just saying that “The cases are censored in 2020, and please expedite the process”, is also a sign of something that is not usual.
Pursuant to the judiciary, 757 cases in all were registered, including 62 whose references were made to the crime department. From the aggregate number of cases opened and registered, so far 367 have already been charge-sheeted while others 250 are awaiting trial. Between the period of April 2nd, the number of cases still under investigation is 273.
The highest authority will address this issue for the second time on April 29. There was also a band of PILs saying inquiry and FIR against the political leaders for their hate speeches on the court are pending too.
