The Delhi High Court on Monday, October 5, 2026, dismissed a batch of petitions seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the 2020 northeast Delhi riots and the December 2019 violence at Jamia Millia Islamia during anti-CAA protests, rejecting demands for FIRs against political leaders over alleged hate speeches.
What the petitions demanded
A division bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain said the batch was divided into two parts — one concerning the northeast Delhi riots and one concerning the Jamia violence — and concluded: "For the reasons mentioned in the judgment, all the petitions are dismissed." The verdict had been reserved on July 24, and a detailed judgment is awaited.
The petitions sought directions for setting up an SIT, a commission of inquiry, or a fact-finding committee; medical treatment and compensation for those affected; registration of FIRs against erring police officers; and FIRs against political leaders for alleged hate speeches.
The petitioners came from across the political spectrum. Shaikh Mujtaba Farooq sought FIRs against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma, and Abhay Verma over alleged hate speeches. CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind sought a probe into the police's alleged "inaction and apathy" and into leaders' alleged hate speeches. Lawyers' Voice sought action over alleged speeches by Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manish Sisodia, Amanatullah Khan, and Asaduddin Owaisi. Ajay Gautam prayed for an NIA probe under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act into the alleged funding of the anti-CAA protests.
The court's reasoning
According to LiveLaw, which reported on the order, the bench observed elements of "political selectivity" in the pleas seeking FIRs against politicians. The court said the record indicated "an element of political selectivity in the manner in which certain individuals and particular speeches have been targeted for action by respective petitioners," while declining to record findings on the petitioners' motives at this stage.
The bench held that there were no exceptional circumstances warranting the registration of criminal cases. It observed that in several instances only portions or excerpts of the purported speeches had been placed on record, and that the completeness and authenticity of the speeches — as well as the context in which the statements were made — were not established and remained disputed.
Background: the 2020 riots and 2019 Jamia violence
Communal clashes broke out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, amid protests against the citizenship law, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 700 injured. The separate Jamia petitions concerned the violence that erupted at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019 following anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests, where students alleged police assaulted them on campus. The petitioners had argued that an SIT independent of the police and the central government was needed to investigate the alleged brutalities committed against the students.
The petitions had been pending since 2020. The Supreme Court had earlier asked the High Court to decide one of the pleas expeditiously.
What happens next
The petitioners' remedies now include appealing to the Supreme Court. The detailed judgment, expected shortly, will lay out the court's full reasoning for rejecting all 15 petitions. Until then, the dismissal stands: no SIT, no court-monitored probe, and no FIRs against the politicians or police personnel named in the pleas.
Takeaway: Six years after the 2020 Delhi riots, the High Court has closed the door on the last major push for an independent probe and hate-speech prosecutions — a ruling that settles the petitions but is unlikely to settle the public argument over who was responsible for the violence.
Sources
- The Hindu: Delhi High Court dismisses pleas for SIT probe into 2020 riots, 2019 Jamia violence
- The Indian Express: 2020 Delhi riots cases seeking action against Sonia Gandhi, Anurag Thakur, dismissed
- Hindustan Times: Delhi HC quashes petitions for SIT probe into 2020 riots, Jamia violence
- LiveLaw: Delhi High Court flags 'political selectivity' in pleas seeking FIRs over alleged hate speeches
🎵 Reel music: Kevin MacLeod - Hitman (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0