HC to continue hearing on pleas on Delhi riots on Feb 16

New Delhi, Feb 8 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it would continue hearing, on February 16, a batch of petitions related to the 2020 Delhi riots, including on seeking a special probe, and registration of FIRs over alleged hate speeches linked to the anti-CAA protests by politic.

While posting the matter for next Wednesday, the bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup J Bhambhani allowed two of the petitioners Lawyers Voice and Shaikh Mujtaba Farooq to implead proper and necessary parties in their plea on specific allegations of hate speeches by politic.

The court also asked Additional Advocate General Aman Lekhi, who appeared on behalf of Delhi Police, to place all the relevant materials as soon as possible.

The adjournment was to enable two petitioners represented by aenior advocates Colin Gonsalves and Sonia Mathur to file appropriate applications seeking to implead proper and necessary parties.

On January 28, the pleas were transferred to the present bench through an administrative order.

On Friday, the bench took note of the apex court direction of December 17, 2021, in which it told the Delhi High Court to dispose of the Delhi riots matters expeditiously, preferably within three months.

Last week, the Delhi Police had filed a fresh status report with regard to all 758 FIRs in connection with the violence, along with the detail of present stages before the trial court, following the court direction passed on the last date of hearing.

A total of 695 cases are being investigated by North-East District police while 62 cases such as murders were transferred to the Crime Branch, where three dedicated Special Investigation Teams probed these cases under continuous monitoring of superior officers, the police said.It was also submitted that a case pertaining to the larger conspiracy behind the communal riots in the national capital is being investigated by the Special Cell.