Delhi Riots: Common Sense Shouldn't Be Given Go-by, Says Court; Discharges Man

Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav discharged 22-year-old Javed who was held for the offence of causing "mischief by fire or explosive substance" after the court noted that the complainant's statements do not show that the said act was committed.

The judge said, "This court is conscious of the fact that cases of communal riots have to be considered with the utmost sensitivity, but that does not mean that common sense should be given go-by; the mind has to be applied even at this stage with regard to the material available on record."

The Delhi riots accused Javed was arrested in April 2020 based on complaints filed by 4 people who claimed that their house, godown and shops were vandalised and looted by a mob on February 25, 2020 during the Delhi riots.

The judge observed that there were no eyewitnesses, CCTV footages or photographs of the incident. He also took note of the fact that the complainant did not mention even a single word regarding mischief by fire or explosive substance by the mob.

"I'm afraid that the investigating agency can't cover up the said flaw by way of recording the supplementary statements of the complainants if the ingredient(s) of section 436 IPC [mischief by fire] was not there in their initial written complaints made to the police,” ASJ Yadav said.

"I am of the considered view that ingredients of Section 436 IPC are not at all made out from the material produced on record by the investigating agency. Except for Section 436 of the IPC, all the offences invoked in the matter are exclusively triable by the court of learned Magistrate," he added.

In the wake of anti-CAA protests last year, communal clashes had broken out in north-east Delhi in the month of February. Violence between the Citizenship (Amendment) Act supporters and its protesters had spiraled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
(With PTI Inputs)