Delhi Sessions Court Stays Magistrate Order Over FIR Against Police in 2020 Riots Case

In a turn of events, a Delhi sessions court has put a hold on a magistrate's directive to file an FIR against police officials linked to alleged hate crimes during the 2020 Delhi riots. The ruling stemmed from procedural lapses regarding sanction, with the decision extending the debate over accountability in the riots' aftermath.

In a decisive ruling, a sessions court in Delhi has intervened, halting a magistrate court's order that sought the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against a Station House Officer (SHO) and other police officers accused of a hate crime during the tumultuous Delhi riots of 2020. The proceedings, critically scrutinized for procedural lapses, underscore the complexity of accountability in high-stakes cases.

Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai stayed the order passed by the Magistrate court as it emerged that the directive lacked necessary sanction for an FIR against a serving SHO. The judge elaborated that enforcing the impugned order could undermine the intentions behind the petition itself, as expressed following close examination of case submissions.

Advocate Sanjay Gupta, representing the SHO, contested that the magistrate's order, which was based on allegedly flawed grounds, risked violating principles like double jeopardy—highlighted by a parallel FIR on the same incident being active. Simultaneously, complainant Mohd. Waseem's harrowing allegations, connected tangentially to a CBI-investigated case, continue to emphasize unresolved tensions from the 2020 riots.

(With inputs from agencies.)