The Delhi High Court on Friday vacated its earlier interim order that had restrained the trial court from passing any final order on framing charges in the case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, relating to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna lifted the interim protection that had been granted in September 2024 while dismissing a petition filed by accused activist Devangana Kalita seeking access to certain video recordings of anti-CAA and NRC protests, as well as WhatsApp group chats collected by the Delhi Police during the investigation in two riot-related cases against her.
The Court’s decision clears the way for the trial court to proceed with the charge-framing stage in the larger conspiracy case, which is currently at an advanced stage. All accused persons have already concluded their arguments on charge, and the matter is awaiting rejoinder submissions by the Delhi Police before the trial court reserves its decision.
Kalita had contended before the High Court that the videos sought by her were allegedly recorded by individuals engaged by the Delhi Police pursuant to a tender process and formed part of the investigative material. She sought access to those recordings and related material for the purposes of her defence.
While rejecting that plea, the High Court allowed a separate application filed by Kalita seeking permission to inspect unrelied-upon documents stored in the court malkhana. A detailed judgment setting out the reasons for the Court’s decision is awaited.
Kalita was granted bail by the Delhi High Court in June 2021 along with co-accused Asif Iqbal Tanha and Natasha Narwal in the larger conspiracy case. The Supreme Court subsequently upheld the grant of bail by dismissing the Delhi Police’s challenge to the High Court’s order. Earlier, in August, the trial court had also declined Kalita’s request for access to the entire CCTV footage from the North-East Delhi region and WhatsApp chats of police officials connected with the investigation.
The proceedings arise out of FIR No. 59 of 2020, which is being investigated by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. The case has been registered under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The prosecution alleges the existence of a larger conspiracy behind the communal violence that took place in North-East Delhi in February 2020.
Among those arraigned as accused in the case are Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi, Ishrat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, Faizan Khan, Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita.
With the High Court vacating its interim restraint order, the trial court is now free to continue proceedings and pass an order on the question of framing charges in one of the most significant prosecutions arising out of the 2020 Delhi riots.
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