A Delhi court has stayed an earlier order that had directed the Delhi Police to carry out further investigation against BJP leader and Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra over his alleged role in the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.
The stay was granted by Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Courts. The judge issued notice on a revision petition filed by the Delhi Police against the order passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACJM) on April 1, 2025.
“Let notice of the revision petition be issued to the respondents returnable on 21.04.2025. The record of the court of Ld. ACJM be also requisitioned for the next date fixed. In the meantime, the operation of the impugned order shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing,”
— said the Rouse Avenue Court.
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According to Delhi Police, the order issued by the ACJM should be set aside, as the magistrate had made an error in directing further investigation. They argued that the complainant had only sought registration of an FIR under Section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and not additional investigation.
The police also pointed out that the magistrate’s order ignored the fact that there is already an ongoing UAPA case probing a larger conspiracy behind the riots. As per the Delhi Police, the ACJM encroached upon the jurisdiction of the special court that is handling the UAPA case by ordering a fresh investigation.
Kapil Mishra was represented in court by Senior Advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey, along with a team of advocates — Sidhesh Kotwal, Paritosh Anil, Manya Hasija, Tejaswi Khulle, Kushank Sindhu, Rupraj Banerjee, Amrita Vats, Madhav Sareen, and Muskan Sharma.
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The state was represented by Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad.
In the earlier order that has now been stayed, the ACJM had stated that further investigation against Mishra was justified. The magistrate observed that a cognizable offence had been made out against him in connection with an incident mentioned in the complaint.
“Kapil Mishra, during his interrogation, admitted that he was present at the spot and was surrounded by people whom he knew. Therefore, his presence at the scene cannot be ruled out,”
— the ACJM had stated in the order, strengthening the allegations made by the complainant.
The complaint was filed by a man named Mohd. Ilyas. In his plea before the ACJM, Ilyas claimed that on February 23, 2020, he saw Kapil Mishra and his associates blocking a road and damaging street vendors’ carts.
He also alleged that senior police officials, including the then Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-East), were standing beside Mishra and issued threats to protestors, asking them to vacate the area or face consequences.
“The then Deputy Commissioner of Police and other officials stood next to Mishra and warned protestors to leave the area, or there would be consequences,”
— alleged Mohd. Ilyas in his complaint.
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In the same complaint, Ilyas sought the registration of an FIR not just against Kapil Mishra, but also against the then SHO of Dayalpur police station, BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht, and former BJP MLAs Jagdish Pradhan and Satpal Sansad.
However, the Delhi Police strongly opposed the complaint and claimed that there was a deliberate and well-planned attempt to falsely frame Mishra in connection with the riots. They stated that the BJP leader had no involvement in the violence that took place in February 2020.
“There is a well-planned conspiracy to implicate Kapil Mishra. He had no role in the 2020 riots,”
— submitted Delhi Police.
The case will now be heard on April 21, 2025, and until then, the court’s stay on the ACJM’s directive for further investigation will remain in effect.
