Delhi court sets aside order to investigate Minister Kapil Mishra’s role in Delhi riots
Sessions court quashes magistrate’s order directing police to probe Mishra’s alleged involvement in 2020 North-east Delhi riots
A sessions court in Delhi has set aside an order by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasiya that had directed the Delhi Police to investigate Delhi Law Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra’s alleged role in the 2020 North-east Delhi riots. The Magistrate’s April 1 order arose from a plea by Mohammad Ilyas, who accused Mishra of participating in the riots by blocking roads and damaging vendor carts, with police officials allegedly nearby.
Magistrate Chaurasiya had questioned the Delhi Police investigation and challenged the theory that anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests were a superficial cover for orchestrated violence. The magistrate pointed out what he considered flawed assumptions and alternative interpretations of the police’s conspiracy theory, including claims about women protestors used to restrain police action during the violence.
Both Kapil Mishra and the Delhi Police appealed the magistrate’s order, leading to a stay on April 9 and its eventual setting aside by the sessions court.