Delhi court stays order for police probe into Kapil Mishra’s alleged role in 2020 riots

A Delhi court on Wednesday stayed a magistrate’s order to the police to carry out further investigation against Bharatiya Janata Party leader and state law minister Kapil Mishra for his alleged involvement in the violence that broke out in the city in February 2020, Bar and Bench reported.

Additional Sessions Judge Kaweri Baweja stayed the order till the next date of hearing on April 21.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasiya had on April 1 held that there was enough material to warrant further investigation into whether Mishra committed a cognisable offence in connection with the 2020 violence. The Delhi Police filed a revision petition against the order.

Cognisable offences under Indian law are serious crimes that threaten public safety or order. The police can register a case and make arrests for such crimes without court approval.

The police argued that the additional chief judicial magistrate erred by ordering further investigation even though the complainant had demanded that a first information report be registered, Live Law reported. It also contended that the magistrate encroached on the jurisdiction of the special court hearing cases related to the riots, despite knowing that a case under the Unlawful Activities Act was pending.

The complaint against Mishra was filed by a man named Mohammed Ilyas.

Ilyas was among the handful of citizens who approached the courts...

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