Delhi Court Orders FIR Against Kapil Mishra Over 2020 Riots
Mohammad Ilyas’ Long Quest for Justice
Mohammad Ilyas, a 57-year-old Yamuna Vihar resident, feels a mix of happiness and skepticism after a Delhi court ordered an FIR against BJP leader and Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra for his alleged role in the 2020 Delhi riots. Ilyas had been seeking this order for five years.
Ilyas expressed his relief, saying, “I’m happy and relieved with the order. I was afraid the court would reject my application.” However, he remains doubtful about the Delhi Police’s willingness to act on the order.
Ilyas’ lawyer, Mehmood Pracha, informed him that the Delhi police might seek a stay on the order from a higher court. Ilyas believes that the police will try to delay the process, stating, “If they wanted to stop the actual rioters, my FIR would have been registered in 2020 itself.”
Since the order was pronounced on Tuesday, Ilyas has not been contacted by the police regarding the registration of the FIR.
Five-Year Legal Battle
Ilyas claims that on February 23, 2020, he witnessed Mishra and his associates blocking a road at Kardam Puri, near his residence, and damaging carts belonging to Muslims and Dalits. He alleges that police officers were present but did not intervene.
After the rioting ceased, Ilyas attempted to file an FIR against Mishra but was turned away by the Delhi police three times. In November 2020, he approached a magistrate’s court to seek the registration of an FIR against Mishra.
The application was listed 24 times before seven different judges of the North East district court in Karkardooma. Last year, the court directed that the application be filed before a special MP/MLA court for faster trials.
The special court listed the matter 15 more times before two different magistrates before delivering its order on Tuesday. The court found evidence indicating Mishra’s presence in the area and that “all the things were corroborating.”
Ilyas was present in the court when the order was pronounced. He recounted, “Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasiya called me before the courtroom and said that the credibility of my complaint was very high. Hearing him say this was huge for me.”
Ilyas added, “The police have visited me so many times and questioned why I was trying to get the FIR registered. But I saw the violence with my own eyes. The magistrate’s words validated my claims.”
Family Worried About Media Attention
Some of Ilyas’ relatives are worried about the media spotlight and public attention he may receive due to the order. Earlier, Scroll reported that Ilyas faced constant threats and harassment, mostly from the police, during his five-year struggle to register an FIR against Mishra.
Ilyas alleged that two of his younger brothers, who were living in Dehradun during the riots, were booked by the Delhi police for the murder of a police constable as retribution for his application. They had to give up their businesses in Uttarakhand and move to Delhi to attend court hearings for the murder trial.
Ilyas’ brothers are concerned that the police may file false cases against him now. However, Ilyas is determined to continue his legal battle, saying, “Yesterday was just the first step in the realisation of my struggle for justice.”
He added, “I merely want those who committed the riots to face trial in court. Then it is up to the court to decide how to penalise them.”
