The Delhi high court has requested a report from the trial court overseeing the Delhi Riots 2020 case regarding the number of pleas seeking the supply of documents and the current status of the charge sheet. The court’s decision came as part of its review of the bail plea of Mohd Saleem Khan, who has been in custody since 2020. Khan was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and sections related to riots and conspiracy.
The Delhi police special cell has been investigating the case since 2020, and a main charge sheet, along with four supplementary charge sheets, has already been filed. The high court, comprising justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain, directed the registry to obtain a report from the trial court on when the charge sheet was filed against Khan.
During the bail arguments, the counsel for the accused maintained that Khan had no role in the conspiracy of the riots. They also claimed that the accused has been in custody for an extended period, and the trial has been subject to significant delays due to the accused filing multiple applications seeking the supply of documents.
Responding to these contentions, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad countered that the accused themselves were responsible for the trial’s delay by consistently filing applications for document supply.
In light of these arguments, the division bench ordered the trial court to inform the high court about the total number of applications filed by the accused seeking document supply under Section 207 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Furthermore, the trial court was instructed to specify the status of these applications, including the number that have been disposed of and the number that are still pending. The high court also directed the trial court to provide details about the workload of the court, including the number of cases listed on a day-to-day basis and the overall pendency.
The matter has been scheduled for the next hearing on March 5, 2024. Previously, on May 23, 2022, the high court had issued a notice to the Delhi Police on an appeal filed by Mohd Saleem Khan, one of the accused in the North East Delhi riots case.
Meanwhile, the appeal stated that although the FIR did not mention the appellant’s name or allege any role, he was arrested 111 days after the case began. As of the date of filing the appeal, the appellant had been in custody for 687 days. The prosecution submitted a piece of evidence, a CCTV video footage, showing the appellant carrying a wiper, allegedly involved in breaking a CCTV camera, which was presented as substantial evidence in a case registered at the Dayalpur police station.
According to the prosecution, the appellant played a key role in the Chand Bagh anti-CAA protest, delivering provocative speeches and organizing food supplies for the protest. They claimed that he attended multiple meetings to plan roadblocks and riots, and was involved in the protests and subsequent riots that occurred in February 2020.
With the high court seeking a detailed report from the trial court, the status of the Delhi Riots 2020 case remains uncertain. The court’s future deliberations and decisions will shape the course of justice for the accused and shed light on the alleged larger conspiracy behind the riots.
