Delhi riots: HC seeks police stand on accused's plea to preserve case diary
Delhi riots: HC seeks police stand on accused's plea to preserve case diary
New Delhi, The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the stand of the city police on a plea by a student activist seeking to preserve the case diary of a probe related to the communal riots that had erupted in parts of the city in February 2020.
Justice Jasmeet Singh issued notice to the Delhi Police on the plea by Devangana Kalita, an accused in the case, and asked the agency to file its status report.
Kalita's counsel alleged that the police have added "antedated" statements to the case diary, which is impressible in law, and, therefore, urged the court to pass a direction to "reconstruct" and "preserve" the document.
"I can't pass an ex parte order. I need to have their response," said Justice Singh, while listing the matter for further consideration on November 25.
The lawyer claimed that at the stage of framing of charge in the case, which pertains to an FIR registered at Jafrabad police station, the police have introduced "antedated" statements in the case diary to allege that the accused was instrumental in causing "dhakka-mukki" with the police.
In her plea in high court, Kalita has assailed a trial court order which refused to call the case diary before it. The police had then opposed the request on the ground that it would delay the matter further.
The trial court had said that at this stage, it could not look into the truthfulness and veracity of her allegations that raised a "suspicion on the version of the investigating agency" and asked her to raise the issue at an appropriate stage.
Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 700 injured.
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