Delhi riots: Court says police case against CAA protestors based on assumptions, Kapil Mishra created divisions

A court in the national capital has raised serious questions over the Delhi Police investigation into the alleged conspiracy behind the North-east Delhi riots of 2020 [Mohammad Ilyas v State & Ors]. .Additional Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia of the Rouse Avenue Courts said that many questionable assumptions, guesswork and interpretations have gone into building the police’s theory that the riots were a pre-planned conspiracy by anti-Citizenship Amendment (CAA) protestors. “Once these flaws are outlined, therefore the theory goes off and so does the lens with which prosecution seeks to interpret the facts,” the Court said. Police had contended that the anti-CAA protests were not organic but only a facade to perpetrate mass-scale violence in the city. However, Judge Chaurasia said that several of Delhi Police’ interpretations, including the argument that women were put in front of the anti-CAA protests so that the police would practise restraint and mass-scale violence could be executed, can be interpreted otherwise. “Assuming that the version of the prosecution to be correct, I am at odd to believe that any community, caste, sect, religion, (I have to take up as prosecution has outrightly mentioned the communal overtones) which is preparing for a mass level violence would be led by women of such community, caste, sect or religion wherein their most vulnerable gender would be at peril when violence breaks out. Now this Court is not espousing its opinion rather mooting guess work for wise reader. It is not important to be educated and intelligent to be wise and this Court can also throw an open question for the guesswork to the wise people as to other side of the interpretation.”.Pertinently, the Court also noted that just a day before the riots, BJP leader and current Delhi law minister Kapil Mishra was in North-east Delhi and had a conversation with the then Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ved Prakash Surya after which the police officer warned protestors that the price of protest may be life, the court noted.The judge further said that while no anti-Hindu rhetoric was found in the chats of the present accused relied upon by the police, BJP leader and current Delhi law minister Kapil Mishra referred to the anti-CAA protesters as the other side and created a distinction of “us and them” with them being the Muslims. .These findings were rendered by the Court while dealing with a plea seeking registration of an FIR against Mishra and others for their role in the riots that killed more than 50 people in the national capital. Mohammad Ilyas, a resident of Delhi’s Yamuna Vihar had on March 15, 2020 approached the Delhi Police to probe Mishra’s involvement. Police took no action on his complaint, after which he moved the court. Ilyas listed five incidents, including the allegation that Mishra and his associates had blocked the road at Kardampuri on February 23, 2020 and broke the carts of Muslim and Dalits with police support. It was stated that DCP Surya wandered the streets telling the people that if protests do not stop, serious consequences would follow and they may be killed. However, Delhi Police argued Mishra has already been investigated in the case and he had no role in the violence. Police added that a false propaganda was being created against Mishra. .After considering the allegations, the Court said that it could not believe Delhi Police when it said Mishra had been investigated in the conspiracy case. The Court said that Mishra’s statement, "Maine DCP Sahab se kaha tha ki. hum ab jaa rahe hai, aap road khulva de, nahi to hum bhi road khulvane ke liye dhaarne par baith jaaenge" (I told DCP sir that we are now going, and you must open the road. Else, we will sit in protest to open the road), was an ultimatum. And all of this happened on 23 February, 2020, just before the day of riots, the Court noted. Therefore, the Court ordered a further investigation against Mishra with respect to the incident in Kardampuri. The Court furthered ordered the police to examine DCP Surya because his statement that if the protest do not cease, people will be killed hint that he “knows something which this judiciary does not”..Advocates Mehmood Pracha and Sanawar Choudhary appeared for Mohammad Ilyas. Delhi Police was represented through Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad. .[Read Order]