Chance at redemption for justice

The trial court order to register an FIR against Delhi bjp minister Kapil Mishra in the February 2020 Delhi riots case is a very significant order. It helps the sense of rule of law especially when the judiciary is facing a serious crisis of legitimacy amidst charges of corruption and compromising independence on the higher judiciary. The court was hearing a petition from a victim Mohammed ilyas through his lawyer Mahmoud paracha to implicate Kapil Mishra, legislator Mohan Singh bisht and five others including the area sho. While Shri ilyas presented incriminating evidence against Mishra the public prosecutor argued that Mishra had already been investigated for larger conspiracy and nothing was found against him. This order raises serious questions about the investigation carried out by Delhi police in the case which directly reports to the union home ministry. The riots had left 53, mostly Muslims, dead and was seen as politically engineered to scuttle the anti CAA protests. That the court admitted the petition after 5 years of the riots is reassuring for the people who have no redressal against the ruling dispensation. The prosecution department now reports to the Delhi bjp administration also is a factor. It needs to be watched if the Delhi police finally registers the FIR and if it investigates it impartially.