Delhi High Court has ordered the trial court not to pass the final order in the charge framing in the permit case about the larger conspiracy in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. This directive came in the middle of a hearing session on Thursday on a petition filed by Devangana Kalita, one of the accused in the case. Currently, she is praying for the release of specific videos and Whats App chats that she says are necessary in her defence in two cases, one of which is under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). This violence erupted during the protest against the CAA and NRC.
The applicant’s counsel proceeded with the ongoing arguments on charge framing for Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, who presided over the hearing, reminded that no final order should be made until September 23. As for the record, the counsel for the respondent claimed that the case file was missing and thus sought an adjournment. The proceeding was done through video conferencing. Kalita’s lawyer argued against this move, saying that the petition was necessary to obtain essential evidence, such as videos and chats, to vindicate Kalita and the children.
According to Kalita’s counsel, the prosecution failed to produce basic evidence that would corroborate her statements, such as a video. For his part, the representative of the Delhi Police argued that the instant petitions are not maintainable while at the same time ensuring that they deal with this issue when the case comes up for a subsequent hearing. The counsel also informed the bench about the earlier the police had hired people to record protests in February 2020. Therefore, authorities should provide the footage to Kalita before the trial court hears further arguments on framing charges.
The high court has set the matter to roll on for further submissions on the matter on September 23rd, having left it to the trial court to facilitate continued debate on the charges.
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