Delhi Court slams police for lackadaisical attitude in Delhi riots cases

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Arun Kumar Garg came down heavily on the police for its "lackadaisical attitude" in investigating the 2020 riots case. The Delhi Court further asked the Police Commissioner to take appropriate action ensuring proper, expeditious investigation.

The Court was hearing a case against Dinesh Yadav, who was arrested for rioting. Garg gave the police the last and final opportunity to file a supplementary charge sheet in the case within three weeks.

The Court further noted that the accused is in jail for almost a year. It is unable to proceed with the case on merits along with other riot cases due to the lackadaisical attitude of the investigating agency, including supervising officers up to the rank of DCP and above, the Court said.

"I deem it appropriate to send a copy of this order to Commissioner of Police, Delhi with a direction to take appropriate action as per law so as to ensure proper and expeditious investigation in the present case as well as the other riots cases within the timeline," the judge stated.

Another judge had pulled up the police for their failure to conduct a proper investigation last week. He added that the failure would torment the sentinels of democracy when history looks back at the worst communal riots in the city since partition.

Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav called the case a colossal wastage of taxpayer money. The police merely tried to pull the wool over the Court's eyes and nothing else, he added.

In a different case, the same judge further remarked that the standard of investigation in several 2020 northeast riots cases is very poor.

The Delhi pogrom, which broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020, left at least 53 people dead and over 700 injured.