Observing that the police did its job with utmost integrity, a Delhi court has pulled up a lawyer, who had argued that only Muslims were targeted during the northeast Delhi riots of 2020.
Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat, in an order passed on November 11, pulled up advocate Mehmood Pracha, who was hearing the bail plea of the accused Arif. His bail was denied after the court noted that an eye witness may be threatened by the accused.
The case relates to the murder of one Alok Tiwari, who sustained several blunt and sharp injuries near Shiv Vihar Tiraha on February 25, 2020.
As per the postmortem report, the deceased had received 13 injuries by sharp edged and blunt objects. The accused is also under investigation in two seperate murder cases which took place during the riots.
Pracha argued that the northeast Delhi riots were “not actually communal riots.”
He submitted that the “riots had taken place at the instance of certain political vested interests to derail the peaceful protest which was going on against the newly promulgated CAA/NRC by the Parliament of India.”
Pracha argued that “only the persons belonging to Muslim community, like the applicant were targeted by the police in the aftermath of the riots and were arraigned in false criminal cases.”
The court said that Pracha’s arguments were “certainly not in good taste.”
“These are noted with immense disgust repugnance and strong disapproval, ” the court said, adding that Pracha had not pointed out any material on record to substantiate his claims.
The court said that it was Pracha himself who was “painting the entire Delhi Police with a communal brush by saying that the criminal cases related to the riots have been fastened upon the members of Muslim community alone.”
“The statement of counsel is not only highly irresponsible but also patently false. This court, while dealing with the cases related to the riots, has noticed that members of both the communities have been arraigned as an accused and have been chargesheeted by the police,” the court said.
“The police appears to have done its job with utmost integrity and certainly not on communal lines. May be some lapses have occurred during the investigation of these cases related to the riots but even those lapses do not give any slightest indication that the investigation was not fair and impartial or that it was on communal lines,” the court said.
The court advised Pracha to “desist from making such irresponsible, uncalled for and patently false submissions. The cases before this court are very serious and sensitive in nature and require to be dealt with in a professional manner without any communal taint.”
This story first appeared on indianexpress.com