Delhi courts have acquitted the accused in at least 17 cases related to the 2020 riots as they repeatedly found fabricated evidence, fictitious witnesses, and foisted cases, and an investigation has revealed that judges consistently censured the police for misconduct.
A review of 93 acquittal orders showed that nearly one in every five cases included judicial criticism of the Delhi Police, and of the 116 riots cases with verdicts delivered so far, 97 have ended in acquittals, according to The Indian Express.
Judges in at least 12 cases determined that the police had relied on artificial witnesses or had apparently fabricated evidence, and in two other cases, witnesses testified that police officials had dictated their statements.
The scale of judicial rebuke pointed to a pattern of systemic lapses, as courts dismantled the prosecution’s claims and concluded that the investigative process had been compromised.
The riots, which broke out in 2020 amid protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and left 53 people dead and over 700 injured, remain one of the worst episodes of communal violence in Delhi’s recent history.
Several verdicts observed that witnesses appeared fictitious or unreliable, while courts also noted failures such as the absence of a Test Identification Parade, which suggested that police were aware of the weaknesses in their own cases.
In other acquittals, judges found manipulation in case diaries and false claims by police constables, and these findings have collectively highlighted a breakdown in the credibility of the investigation.