New Delhi: A Delhi court has pulled up the city police for their continued inaction in completing the investigation against BJP leader Kapil Mishra for allegedly posting inflammatory tweets during the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections amid the Shaheen Bagh protests.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia, in a hearing held on Monday, expressed strong disapproval over the police’s repeated failure to comply with earlier court directions. The judge observed that despite earlier orders in March pointing out serious investigative lapses, no visible progress had been made, reflecting what the court described as a “casual attitude” from the investigative team.
The court also noted the absence of any representative from the investigating agency during the proceedings, calling the situation “unacceptable.” The judge stated that before issuing any stringent remarks, the matter was being escalated to the Commissioner of Police for appropriate attention.
The case pertains to Mishra’s controversial tweet during the anti-CAA and NRC protests at Shaheen Bagh in early 2020. The tweet accused opposition parties of fostering “mini Pakistan” zones and called on “deshbhakts” to rise on polling day. Mishra’s comments sparked outrage and led to a case being registered under Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, which deals with promoting enmity in electoral contexts. He was also accused of giving divisive statements to media outlets.
Although the case was registered in 2020, charges were only filed in 2023. In March this year, the trial court highlighted major deficiencies in the probe and had instructed police to secure additional materials and close
investigative gaps.
The magistrate stressed that the Delhi Police must not hesitate to involve other ministries if needed and reminded them of their institutional capacity to investigate such
matters thoroughly.
The Joint Commissioner, Northern Range, has now been tasked with ensuring necessary compliance ahead of the next hearing on July 7.
The court had earlier directed that the Deputy Commissioner of Police personally monitor the investigation due to the sensitive nature of the case. Senior Advocate Pawan Narang represented Mishra, while Additional Public Prosecutor Chiranjit Singh appeared for the state.