The Delhi High Court on Monday, October 5, dismissed a batch of petitions seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots and the violence that broke out at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019 following protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
A bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain said while pronouncing the verdict, “For the reasons mentioned in the judgment, all the petitions are dismissed.”
“The batch is decided into two parts, one is for Northeast Delhi riots and another is for Jamia Millia riots,” the bench said.
The court’s detailed judgment is awaited. The Delhi High Court had reserved its verdict on the petitions on July 24.
Pleas Seeking SIT Probe Into Delhi Riots
The petitions concerning the Northeast Delhi riots sought directions for setting up an SIT, a commission of inquiry or a fact-finding committee to investigate the violence.
The pleas also sought medical treatment and compensation for those affected, along with the registration of FIRs against police officers accused of wrongdoing.
Some petitioners had also sought action against political leaders over alleged hate speeches and an independent investigation into the violence.
The communal violence broke out in Northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, amid protests against the CAA. At least 53 people were killed and around 700 were injured.
Petitions Over Jamia Violence
The second set of petitions concerned the violence at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019 following protests against the CAA.
The petitioners sought an SIT independent of the Delhi Police and the central government to investigate alleged police excesses against students.
They had argued that an independent probe was necessary to investigate allegations of brutality during the police action on the university campus.
An earlier Delhi High Court order recorded that the connected petitions raised issues including demands for an SIT investigation into the rioters, action against police authorities over alleged inaction, and action concerning alleged hate speeches by political leaders.
The detailed reasons behind Monday’s dismissal will be known once the full judgment is made available by the court.
