Delhi court raps Delhi Police for "casual attitude" while probing hateful tweets by BJP's Kapil Mishra

A Delhi court on Monday censured Delhi Police on its failure to complete the probe against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Kapil Mishra for posting hateful tweets during the 2020 assembly elections about the Shaheen Bagh agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizen (NRC)..Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia noted that the Court in March had highlighted deficiencies in the probe and called for further investigation. However, the Court added that despite repeated orders, the police with a "causal attitude" had failed to comply with the same.“No one is present on behalf of the Investigating Agency to follow up the directions of further investigation and before any stringent remarks could be made upon the casual attitude of the Investigating Agency qua the directions of this Court, this Court is constrained to bring it to the notice of worthy Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police with respect to the state of affairs and non-adequate explanation on the part of the Investigating Agency,” the Court said..The judge impressed upon the police to at least procure the relevant material forming part of the chargesheet as was directed more than a year ago.“It is also suggested that if the aid of any other Ministry is required, this Court is of the opinion that the Delhi Police is enough equipped and will not be shy to take resort to,” the Court further remarked. The Court has now listed the matter for hearing on July 7 and asked the Joint Commissioner, Northern Range to do the needful as it noted that his office was well-acquainted with the state of affairs..In 2020, Mishra was booked under under Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act for the following the tweet:“AAP and Congress are creating mini Pakistan like Shaheen Bagh; 8th February ko Hindustan khada hoga, jab-jab deshdrohi Bharat me Pakistan khada karenge, tab-tab desh bhakto ka Hindustan khada hoga.”He had also given certain statements to media channels.Mishra is accused of promoting enmity and causing disharmony between different classes of the citizens of India. A charge sheet was filed against him only in 2023.The trial court in March this year highlighted “certain significant gaps in the investigation” and directed further investigation.“Recognizing the sensitivity surrounding the case, it is imperative that the Deputy Commissioner of Police concerned shall monitor the investigation,” the Court had directed..Additional Public Prosecutor Chiranjit Singh appeared for the State.Senior Advocate Pawan Narang along with advocates Neeraj and Himanshu Seth appeared for Mishra. [Read order]