2020 Delhi Riots: Courts Cite 'Fabricated' Evidence, Rebuke Police in Cases of Acquittals

New Delhi: Citing “fabricated” evidence, “fictitious” witnesses, and “foisted” cases, Delhi courts have acquitted the accused in at least 17 cases related to the 2020 riots, an investigation by The Indian Express has found.

A review of 93 acquittal orders by the newspaper revealed a clear pattern of judicial censure. In nearly one of every five cases, judges flagged serious misconduct by the Delhi Police. Of the 116 riots cases with verdicts delivered, 97 have ended in acquittals.

In at least 12 orders, judges found police had introduced "artificial" witnesses or apparently "fabricated" evidence. In two other cases, witnesses testified that police officials had dictated their statements.

Additional sessions judge Parveen Singh articulated this judicial frustration in an acquittal last month. "There has been an egregious padding of evidence by the IO," the judge stated. "Such instances lead to serious erosion of the faith of the people in the investigating process and the rule of law."

The 2020 riots, which erupted amid protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), left at least 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The Indian Express review found several court orders that dismantled the prosecution's case. One judge noted that a key witness’s existence "comes under a shadow of doubt, and the possibility of him being a fictitious person cannot be denied." In two near-identical orders, a court inferred that the police knew their case was "fabricated" because they failed to conduct a Test Identification Parade (TIP).

In other cases, judges pointed to the "probable manipulation in the case diary" and an "artificial claim" by a police constable. These judicial rebukes suggest a systemic failure in the investigation into one of the city's worst episodes of communal violence.

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