Court warns against delays in 2020 Delhi riots’ arguments

NEW DELHI: A court here Friday said unnecessary delays in the arguments on charge by the accused persons in the case of alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 northeast Delhi riots would be viewed by it seriously.

Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai made the observation after noting that the counsel appearing for accused Tahir Hussain, Asif Iqbal, Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Ishrat Jahan sought time to start the argument on charge on behalf of their clients.

“It is surprising that on the last date of hearing the court specifically noted that the matter shall be heard on charge on a day-to-day basis and after considering the submissions of the counsel for the accused persons that they will make consensus among themselves for addressing arguments in a particular sequence and with their consent only, the matter was fixed today for arguments on charge but still none of the counsel is ready to address arguments,” the judge observed.

The court sees that more than sufficient time was given but still the counsel are not ready, Additional Sessions Judge Bajpai said.

“The accused persons are warned that the matter should not get delayed further unnecessarily on their part and any delay will be viewed by the court seriously,” he said and posted the matter of arguments on charge on behalf of Hussain for October 21.

It is again made clear that the counsel for other accused persons should make themselves ready for their arguments as soon as the arguments on behalf of Hussain are finished and no adjournment will be granted to them on any ground, the judge said.

While Hussain’s counsel claimed that he was recently engaged in the case and needed some more time to go through “bulky records”, Iqbal’s lawyer said she could not address the arguments on charge due to personal difficulty.

The counsel appearing for Umar Khalid told the court that he would address arguments after the completion of submissions on behalf of Hussain.

The advocate for Sharjeel Imam stated that due to unavoidable circumstances, the counsel for the accused could not reach a consensus on arguments but requested reasonable time to prepare without seeking adjournment. Ishrat Jahan’s counsel informed the court that he would present arguments last, as his client’s role was minimal.

The communal clashes in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, erupted after violence between supporters and opponents of the CAA, resulting in at least 53 deaths and around 200 injuries.