Delhi Riots: High Court Refuses To Entertain Application Challenging Maintainability Of Plea To Investigate Politicians For Alleged Hate Speech

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to entertain an impleadment application challenging the maintainability of the plea seeking registration of FIR against various politicians for allegedly making hate speeches to incite the Delhi riots of 2020.

The impleadment application was filed in a plea moved by Shaikh Mujtaba, seeking registration of FIR and investigation against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma and Abhay Verma.

The Bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Anup J Bhambhani was of the view that the impleadment application could not be allowed as the applicant was neither a proper nor a necessary party.

"Don't turn this into a circus," Justice Mridul orally remarked. 

Advocate Pavan Narang appearing for the applicant prayed that the petition filed by Mujtaba be dismissed and not heard as the same was not maintainable in the Court of law.

At the outset, Justice Mridul remarked thus:

"There is no doubt that you are neither a proper nor a necessary party."

Adding to this, Justice Bhambhani remarked "There is no question of even allowing an impleadment to remain pending...If the petitioner has no locus, then the intervenor should be nowhere in the scene, nowhere around."

The Court was hearing bunch of pleas seeking independent SIT investigation into the North East Delhi Riots of 2020. The pleas also seek registration of FIRs against politicians for alleged hate speeches and action to be taken against errant police officials.

The development came after the Court on the last date of hearing granted liberty to two of the petitioners namely Lawyers Voice and Shaikh Mujtaba Farooq to implead proper and necessary parties in their pleas with regards to the specific allegations of hate speeches by various political figures. 

During the course of hearing today, the Court clarified that it was not summoning any person as an accused.

However, Narang argued thus:

"We are not holding an enquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 wherein somebody is called, it whatever he may say may not be relied upon. You are asking some people as respondents and to file their response in affidavits and then say they are the proposed accused. What about their right under Article 21 and Article 20(3)?"

Justice Bhambhani orally remarked:

"You are proceeding on a pure assumption that questions of locus and maintainability have not been put to the parties. They have already been asked these questions."

Accordingly, the Court granted leave to Narang for withdrawing the impleadment application.

Senior Advocate Colin Gosnalves appearing for the petitioner Shaikh Mujtaba stated that an application seeking impleadment of proper and necessary parties had been instituted on their behalf.

However, since the application was not on record, the Court directed the Registry to have the same on record subject to petitioner removing the objections during the course of the day today.

Senior Advocate Sonia Mathur appearing for another petitioner Lawyers Voice also submitted that their application seeking impleadment of necessary parties was on record.

Accordingly, the Court posted the matter for hearing of the said applications on Monday.

The petitions were transferred by a bench headed by Chief Justice DN Patel vide order dated January 28, 2022.

One of the petitions filed by Jamiat Ulama-e-hind seeks an impartial investigation into the cases by a Special Investigation Team, headed by a retired Supreme Court or Delhi High Court judge. It is demanded that members of the Delhi Police shall be excluded from this SIT.

In addition to the SIT, the petition also seeks a separate and 'especially empowered body' to enquire into all aspects of planning, preparation and causing of the riots.

The petition moved by Ajay Gautam has asked for National Investigation Agency to investigate the funding and sponsoring of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Petitioner had also claimed that these protests are allegedly funded by PFI, which as per him is an anti-national organization, and the same are supported by political parties such as Congress and Aam Aadmi Party.

In addition to these claims, the Petitioner had also asked for FIR to be registered against political leaders such as Waris Pathan, Asaduddin Owaisi and Salman Khurshid, for allegedly making inflammatory and hate speeches.

The petition filed by Brinda Karat seeks independent investigation into the complaints alleging acts, offences and atrocities by members of the police, RAF or state functionaries in relation to the riots. 

In December last year, the Supreme Court had asked the Delhi High Court to decide expeditiously, preferably within three month one of the petitions seeking FIR and investigation against politicians.

Case Title: Ajay Gautam v. GNCTD and other connected pleas