Delhi court closes proceedings against BJP’s Kapil Mishra in 2020 riots case

A Delhi court dismissed the case against BJP leader Kapil Mishra in the 2020 riots due to the complainant's repeated absence from hearings.

A Delhi court on Wednesday closed proceedings against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra in connection with his alleged role during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, after noting that the complainant had failed to appear before the judge to record evidence.

The case arises out of an application filed in August 2024 by one Mohammad Iliyas, who claimed that Mishra was blocking the road along with then DCP (northeast). (PTI)

The order was passed by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashwini Panwar of Rouse Avenue courts.

The court observed that the absence of the complainant from the last three dates of hearing shows that “he is not interested in pursuing the present matter”.

The court said, “The absence of the complainant without any sufficient reason shows that the complainant is deliberately delaying the proceedings of the present matter”.

In such circumstances, the court said it is constrained to dismiss the present complaint case due to non-prosecution by the complainant.

The case arises out of an application filed in August 2024 by one Mohammad Iliyas, through advocate Mehmood Pracha, alleging that Mishra and his associates blocked roads in Kardampuri and destroyed carts of street vendors during protests. He claimed that Mishra was blocking the road along with then deputy commissioner of police (northeast).

Iliyas sought registration of an FIR against Mishra and others. On March 13, a magistrate had dismissed the plea, stating that it was “legally impermissible” especially as a sessions court had pointed out that commission of an offence should be disclosed to initiate any legal action.

The court had said that the session judge’s order was binding on it. The court however, converted the application filed by Iliyas into a complaint, necessitating him to provide evidence to support the allegations.

During the proceedings on Wednesday, the court noted that the case was scheduled for examination of Iliyas and any of his witnesses but despite being given repeated opportunities, he and his counsel failed to appear before the court.

When the counsel informed the court that they have moved a revision plea challenging the magistrate’s March order, the court said, “The conduct of the counsel for the complainant in making contradictory statement before the court speaks volumes about their casual approach in conducting the proceedings in the present matter”.