First conviction in Delhi Riots case: Man convicted for setting house of Muslim family on fire
New Delhi: A Delhi Court on Tuesday convicted one person of rioting and other charges in the 2020 Delhi Riots cases. This is the first conviction in the 2020 Delhi Riots cases.
The court observed that merely the fact he was not seen resorting to vandalism and looting did not mean he was a bystander. Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat also underlined that there was nothing on record to show that the accused person was not associated with unlawful assembly or to show that he did not share a common object.
Dinesh Yadav was convicted for offences under Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon), 457 (house trespass), 392 (robbery), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy a house, etc.) read with Section 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the Indian Penal Code.
The prosecution alleged that a mob of around 200 rioters gathered in front of the house of the complainant. The mob then broke into the house and robbed the house before setting some of the material in the house of fire. The complainant and her children had to jump to the terrace of the adjacent house in order to save their lives.
Yadav denied all the charges, saying he was being framed. He also chose not to lead any evidence in his defence. His counsel contended that no active role had been attributed to his client by the witnesses, indicating that he was only a bystander and did not share an object of the alleged unlawful assembly.
"The fact that the accused also belongs to the Hindu community and was present in the mob armed with a wooden rod which mob resorted to violence against the Muslims, indicates that he shared the common object of the unlawful assembly.
“The mere fact that he was not seen entering complainant's house or vandalising or looting or putting it on fire, does not mean that he was a mere bystander. There is nothing on record to show that the accused had disassociated himself from the unlawful assembly and he did not share the common object of the assembly.” The Court said.
Yadav was stated to have been seen among the rioters - a fact sufficient to indicate “beyond any doubt that he too shared the common object of the assembly” having knowledge of the mob’s intention.
Arguments on the quantum of the sentence will be heard on December 12.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Traitor' jibe: HC issues notice to police, Sena MLA on Kamra's plea against FIR
Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to Mumbai police and Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel on comedian Kunal Kamra's plea challenging an FIR lodged against him for allegedly passing a "traitor" jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
A division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and S M Modak said it would hear Kamra's petition on April 16.
The comedian has failed to appear before the Mumbai police for questioning despite three summons issued to him.
Following a complaint by Sena MLA Murji Patel, the Khar police in Mumbai last month registered the FIR against Kamra under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 353(1)(b) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation).
"Issue notice to the respondents (police and Patel). They shall take instructions and respond to the plea," the HC said.
Three FIRs registered against the comedian at Nashik Rural, Jalgaon and Nashik (Nandgaon) have also been transferred to the Khar police.
Kamra's counsel Navroz Seervai informed the Bombay HC bench that the Madras High Court on Monday extended till April 17 the earlier interim transit anticipatory bail granted to the comedian.
The petitioner has offered in writing thrice to the police to allow him to appear for questioning via video conference in light of the dangers and threat to his life, Seervai said.
"It seems that the police authorities are not so keen on recording his statement but more on bringing him here physically," the senior counsel claimed.
Kamra is presently in Tamil Nadu where he has been residing since 2021, as per his plea.
"This is not a case of murder. It is an FIR that has stemmed from a stand-up comedy show. He (Kamra) is ready to cooperate with the probe but through video conference," Seervai said.
The bench said it would consider all issues on April 16.
During the show, stand-up comedian Kamra had taunted Shinde, without taking his name, using a modified version of a Hindi song from the film "Dil To Pagal Hai" where he called him a "gaddar" (traitor).
The comedian went on to joke about how Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray's leadership (in June 2022).
In his plea filed on April 5, Kamra claimed the complaints against him were violative of his fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression, right to practice any profession and business and right to life and liberty guaranteed under the Constitution of India.
He sought for the FIR to be quashed, claiming the allegations, even if taken at face value, do not constitute an offence.
The comedian also sought the HC to protect him from any coercive action including arrest, seizure of his personal electronic devices and examination of his financial transactions and accounts.
"To permit the investigation to continue would constitute a frontal assault on the freedom of speech and expression. Should a citizen's right to comment on the political developments and actions of political leaders be criminalised in this manner?" the petition said.
Kamra said his remarks made regarding the split in the Shiv Sena, Shinde quitting Uddhav Thackeray's Sena faction and being sworn in as the chief minister at the time (in 2022) are all part of records.
The plea said the FIR has been registered on a stand-up comedy performance, which provides satirical commentary on various social and political events of the country.
There has been a gross abuse of process and the malafide deployment of the criminal justice machinery by a member of the state's legislative assembly, resulting in a patent violation of a citizen's fundamental rights, it claimed.
As per the petition, Kamra wrote the show's script in July 2024 and performed it on 60 occasions between August last year and February 2025.
A recording of the show was uploaded only in March 2025, pursuant to which case was lodged, it said.
