Delhi riots: In hate speech pleas, HC issues fresh notices to political leaders seeking replies to allegations against them

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Tuesday issued fresh notices to several political leaders, including Anurag Thakur (BJP), Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others (AAP/ AIMIM), on pleas to make them parties to proceedings seeking FIR and investigation against them for allegedly delivering hate speeches leading to the February 2020 riots amidst protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar issued fresh notices after noting that the earlier notices issued by the court on February 28 could not be served due to non-payment of process fees by the petitioners. Notices could not be served to the proposed respondents (politicians, celebrity, activists and others) as process fees were not filed. On the filing of process fees by the petitioners within two days and taking all other steps, let fresh notices be issued to all the proposed respondents, the bench said. The court listed the matter for further hearing on April 29.

The court, which was dealing with a batch of petitions concerning the 2020 riots, issued notice to all proposed respondents —persons against whom action is sought in two petitions. One impleadment application was filed by petitioner Shaikh Mujtaba Farooq who has sought FIR for hate speech against BJP leaders Anurag Thakur, Kapil Mishra, Parvesh Verma and Abhay Verma.