NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday stayed an order for further probe against Delhi law minister Kapil Mishra for his alleged role in the 2020 Delhi riots until April 21. Special judge Kaveri Baweja stayed the order after Mishra moved the court with a plea against the magisterial court order. The court also issued notice to complainant Mohammad Ilyas, on whose plea the magistrate ordered an FIR, and asked him to respond by April 21.
“Let notice of the revision petition be issued to the respondents returnable on April 21. The record of the court of learned ACJM (additional chief judicial magistrate) be also requisitioned for the next date fixed. In the meantime, the operation of the impugned order shall remain stayed until the next date of hearing,” the judge said.
Delhi Police moved court against the order of additional chief judicial magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia dated April 1. Chaurasia had “prima facie” found a cognisable offence against Mishra requiring further investigation. “It is clear that Mishra was in the area at the time of alleged offence… further probe required,” the judge had said.
On Wednesday, special public prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad appearing for Delhi Police submitted before the court that the impugned order dated April 1 was liable to be set aside since the magistrate court “erred in directing further investigation into the matter” though the complainant prayed for registration of the FIR under section 156(3) CrPC (175(3) BNSS). Police further said that the said order was otherwise also liable to be set aside since the ACJM court, despite having knowledge regarding the pendency of the case, “encroached upon the jurisdiction of the learned special court dealing with the matter by directing further investigation.”
The SPP further stated that the magistrate court did not pass directions into the matter in relation to other alleged incidents. During the course of arguments, he drew the attention of the court to certain portions of the order, submitting that the magistrate court made “certain unwarranted remarks on the prosecution’s case.”
On April 1, the magistrate court had passed the order while hearing an application filed in Aug 2024 by Ilyas, a resident of Yamuna Vihar. He sought an FIR against Mishra, as well as the then SHO of Dayalpur police station and five others, including BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht and former BJP MLAs Jagdish Pradhan and Satpal Sansad.
Apart from law and justice, Mishra, who is the Karawal Nagar MLA, also holds charge of the labour and tourism departments.
