Delhi HC Rejects SIT Probes into 2020 Northeast Delhi Riots, 2019 Jamia Violence

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a batch of petitions seeking an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the 2020 riots in northeast Delhi and the violence at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019, which broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

A bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain pronounced the order in open court. "For the reasons mentioned in the judgment, all the petitions are dismissed," the bench said. It noted that the batch was divided into two parts — the northeast Delhi riots and the Jamia Millia matters. A detailed judgment, which will set out the court's full reasoning, is awaited. The bench had reserved its verdict on July 24.

In the northeast Delhi matters, petitioners had sought directions for setting up a special investigation team, a commission of inquiry or a fact-finding committee. They also asked for medical treatment and compensation for victims, and for the registration of FIRs against police officers accused of excesses. Some pleas sought that political leaders be booked for alleged hate speech. The petitioners argued that any inquiry had to be independent of the police and the central government.

Communal clashes broke out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, amid protests against the citizenship law. At least 53 people were killed and around 700 injured, according to official figures. The violence was among the worst the capital had seen in decades.

The other petitions concerned the violence at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019. The petitioners claimed that students had been subjected to brutality by police personnel and that an independent inquiry was required.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, passed by Parliament in December 2019, allows members of six minority communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to seek Indian citizenship if they entered the country on or before December 31, 2014. The law drew protests in several parts of the country. Critics described it as discriminatory on the basis of religion, while the government maintained that it was meant to help persecuted minorities.

An SIT is a specialised team set up to investigate a specific case or group of related cases, usually when the ordinary investigative machinery is considered inadequate. Courts may order such a probe but are not bound to. Monday's order means the High Court has declined to direct one at this stage.

Parties dissatisfied with the verdict can seek a review of the order or challenge it before the Supreme Court, which can grant special leave to appeal under Article 136 of the Constitution.

The dismissal does not by itself halt the investigations and trials already under way in connection with the two episodes. It relates specifically to the demand for a fresh, court-monitored inquiry. The detailed judgment's observations on the scope of judicial intervention in such cases will be studied closely by the petitioners, the authorities and legal experts.