Court Halts FIR Against Delhi Police Official in Communal Riot Case

A court stayed an FIR against a Delhi Police officer accused of assault during the 2020 Delhi riots. The Additional Sessions Judge cited procedural concerns, as a similar case was already under investigation by the CBI. The magistrate had ordered the FIR for alleged hate crime actions.

In a significant legal development, a Delhi court has suspended a magistrate's order to register a First Information Report (FIR) against a police officer accused of misconduct during the 2020 communal riots.

This decision, made by Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai, centers on Salender Tomar, the then station house officer of Jyoti Nagar, whose alleged actions during the riots were classified as 'hate crime' by the magistrate. The case involves an accusation of assault and religious intimidation, as depicted in a viral video.

Despite the magistrate's directive for an FIR, the decision met opposition due to an existing investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) ordered by the high court, raising concerns of procedural overlap and double jeopardy.