2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case: Arguments on charges to begin from September 5

New Delhi: A court here has allowed the prosecution to commence its arguments on framing of charges against the accused in the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 northeast Delhi communal riots from September 5.

Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai on Wednesday disposed of the applications filed by the accused Athar Khan, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Meeran Haider, Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, seeking directions to the Delhi Police for disclosing whether the investigation in the case was complete.

The pleas alleged that according to the final reports filed by the city police, the investigation was continuing and the court could not proceed with hearing the matter on framing of charges till the investigation was complete.

"The situation here is a bit peculiar, that the prosecution, even in the last supplementary chargesheet has stated in general, that the investigation is still continuing and the result thereof shall be submitted before the court in due course," the court said in its order.

Referring to a February 2023 verdict of the Delhi High Court, the judge said that after filing the chargesheet and before hearing the arguments on the charges, the court could question the prosecution whether the chargesheet was finally filed and the matter was fit for hearing the arguments on the charges.

"Now, it is important to note here that in its written submissions, as filed by the prosecution, it is mentioned that the investigation qua the accused persons is complete, which must mean that the investigation is complete qua all the accused persons as chargesheeted till date and not only against the applicants," the judge said.

"And as such the prosecution has disclosed that the investigation is complete and the matter is ripe for hearing arguments on charge," he said.

"It is, thus, ordered that the prosecution may start addressing arguments on charge on the next date of hearing when the case is already fixed," the judge added.

The court then posted the matter for hearing the arguments on the charges on Thursday.

Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad had earlier said that there was sufficient material before the court to proceed with the matter, and by moving the pleas, the applicants were unnecessarily delaying the matter.

The FIR in the case was registered on March 6, 2020 and the UAPA provision was invoked on April 19, 2020. The main chargesheet was filed on September 16 of the same year, following which four supplementary chargesheets were filed.

Twenty people, including the five applicants, activists Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi and former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, have been booked under the UAPA and several provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The case is being investigated by the Delhi Police Special Cell.

The violence had erupted during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) during the week when the then US President Donald Trump was on a visit to India.