The Delhi High Court on Monday, February 28 issued notices to several prominent political leaders including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a plea seeking their impleadment in a hate speech case related to the 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu riots.
Others who were issued notices include AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Amanatullah Khan, AIMIM leaders Waris Pathan and Akbaruddin Owaisi, Mehmood Pracha, controversial left-wing ‘Activist’ Harsh Mander and rabble-rousers like actor Swara Bhaskar.
Impleading is a process through which third parties can be brought into ongoing litigation. The notice was issued while the court was hearing applications for the impleadment of the politicians in a series of petitions alleging that they delivered hate speeches during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that sparked the February 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu riots.
The court sought to know if they should be added as parties/respondents in FIRs filed against them for allegedly making hate speeches during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests two years ago that resulted in the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots two years ago.
The Division Bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Anoop Kumar Mehndiratta stated that the notice to the persons was necessary to allow them to explain whether or not they should be impleaded as party respondents in the writ petition.
The matter has been posted for the next hearing on March 22, 2022.
Delhi HC issues notice to centre, police over petition seeking FIR against Sonia, Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi for hate speech leading to 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu riots
It may be recalled that in February 2020, the Delhi HC had issued notice to Delhi Police, Delhi government and the Centre in connection with a petition seeking registration of FIRs against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for hate speech during anti-Hindu riots in Delhi
The petitions were made by Lawyers’ Voice, Ajay Gautam and the Hindu Sena.
It also sought to issue directions to register an FIR against Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
One of the petitioners, Lawyer’s Voice, had sought FIRs against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Manish Sisodia, Amanatullah Khan, social activist Harsh Mander, AIMIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, former AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan, etc., as parties to the petitions.
Several petitions have been filed in the high court regarding the 2020 riots in north-east Delhi and claimed hate speeches by leaders that caused the Northeast Delhi anti-Hindu riots perpetrated by Islamists between the 23rd and the 26th of February 2020 in the backdrop of protests against CAA.
Delhi HC dismisses application challenging plea seeking FIRs against Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur
OpIndia reported on February 24, how the Delhi HC had dismissed an impleadment application challenging the maintainability of a plea seeking the registration of an FIR against various BJP leaders for allegedly making hate speeches in order to provoke the 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu riots.
The court was hearing an intervention application on behalf of a lawyer in a pending case filed by Shaikh Mujtaba Farooq, who sought the registration of an FIR and investigation against BJP officials Anurag Thakur, Kapil Mishra, Parvesh Verma, and Abhay Verma.
