Delhi HC dismisses pleas for independent probe, FIRs over 2020 riots
Synopsis
The Delhi High Court has shut the door on years of petitions seeking independent or court-supervised investigations into the 2020 North-East Delhi riots and the 2019 Jamia violence. With FIR pleas against leaders from both the BJP and Congress also dismissed, the ruling draws a decisive judicial line — though the door to the Supreme Court remains open.
Key Takeaways
The Delhi High Court on 5 October 2026 dismissed petitions seeking an independent or court-monitored probe into the 2020 North-East Delhi riots and 2019 Jamia Millia Islamia violence .
The bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Manoj Jain dismissed both batches; a detailed judgment is awaited.
Pleas sought FIRs against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma , and Abhay Verma over alleged hate speeches.
A separate petition by Lawyers' Voice also sought action against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi , Rahul Gandhi , and others over alleged hate speech.
The February 2020 riots claimed more than 50 lives and left hundreds injured.
In November 2025 , a Special Court had already set aside further investigation into Kapil Mishra's alleged role, calling the lower court's order 'illegal'.
The Delhi High Court on Monday, 5 October 2026, dismissed a batch of petitions seeking independent and court-monitored investigations into the 2020 North-East Delhi riots and the alleged police atrocities during the December 2019 Jamia Millia Islamia University violence, as well as pleas demanding registration of FIRs against several political leaders over alleged hate speeches.
A bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Manoj Jain pronounced the dismissal across both batches of petitions. 'For the reasons mentioned in the judgments, both the batch of petitions are dismissed,' the court stated. A detailed written judgment is yet to be released.
What the Petitions Sought
The petitions arising from the North-East Delhi riots — which claimed more than 50 lives and left hundreds injured in February 2020 — sought registration of FIRs against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma, and Abhay Verma over alleged hate speeches. They also sought action against Delhi Police personnel accused of dereliction of duty.
Petitioners had pressed for an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT) composed of officers from outside Delhi, or a judicially headed body, to examine both the violence and the conduct of the Delhi Police.
A separate petition filed by Lawyers' Voice sought action over alleged hate speeches attributed to several political and public figures, including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with Manish Sisodia, Amanatullah Khan, Asaduddin Owaisi, Warris Pathan, and others.
Brinda Karat and Other Petitioners
Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat had filed a plea seeking an independent investigation into alleged offences and atrocities attributed to members of the Delhi Police, Rapid Action Force (RAF), and other state functionaries during the riots. Activist Ajay Gautam had sought a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the alleged funding and sponsorship of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, claiming an international conspiracy and foreign funding.
The Jamia Millia Islamia Angle
The court was also adjudicating petitions related to the December 2019 violence at Jamia Millia Islamia University, when students protested against the CAA. Several students and others had petitioned for an SIT to probe allegations of police atrocities inside the university campus during the demonstrations.
Background and Prior Court Orders
The dismissal follows a long trail of litigation over the adequacy of investigations into the February 2020 riots. Notably, in November 2025, a Special Court in Delhi had set aside a trial court order directing further investigation into the alleged role of then-BJP leader Kapil Mishra in the riots. Special Judge Vinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts had declared the lower court's directions 'illegal, without jurisdiction and unsustainable in law', allowing revision petitions filed by the Delhi Police and Mishra. The High Court's ruling now closes another significant chapter in this prolonged judicial process, though further appeals to the Supreme Court remain a possibility.
Point of View
Civil society (Ajay Gautam), and legal bodies (Lawyers' Voice) — targeting figures from both the BJP and the Congress — were all turned away at once. That symmetry may be the court's strongest implicit signal: that it saw no prosecutorial gap warranting judicial override of the executive's investigative machinery. The harder question, left unanswered, is whether the more-than-50 deaths and hundreds of injuries ever received the depth of inquiry that events of that scale demand. With the Rouse Avenue court's November 2025 ruling already narrowing the Kapil Mishra thread, the legal architecture around accountability for the riots is contracting — not expanding.
NationPress
5 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Delhi High Court rule on the 2020 Delhi riots petitions?
The Delhi High Court on 5 October 2026 dismissed a batch of petitions seeking independent or court-monitored investigations into the 2020 North-East Delhi riots and the 2019 Jamia Millia Islamia violence. The bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Manoj Jain also dismissed pleas seeking FIRs against politicians over alleged hate speeches.
Which political leaders were named in the FIR petitions related to the Delhi riots?
Petitions sought FIRs against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma, and Abhay Verma over alleged hate speeches. A separate petition by Lawyers' Voice also named Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and others including Asaduddin Owaisi and Warris Pathan.
What were the 2020 North-East Delhi riots?
The North-East Delhi riots occurred in February 2020 during protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), claiming more than 50 lives and leaving hundreds injured. They remain one of the deadliest episodes of communal violence in Delhi in recent decades.
What happened with the Kapil Mishra investigation before this ruling?
In November 2025, a Special Court in Delhi set aside a trial court order directing further investigation into the alleged role of then-BJP leader Kapil Mishra in the riots. Special Judge Vinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts declared the lower court's directions 'illegal, without jurisdiction and unsustainable in law'.
Can petitioners challenge the High Court's dismissal?
Yes, petitioners can approach the Supreme Court of India by filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the Delhi High Court's order. The detailed written judgment, which is still awaited, will be key to framing any such appeal.
