A Delhi sessions court has set aside a magistrate&rsquo;s directive to register an FIR against BJP leader Kapil Mishra in a case tied to the February 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, offering the political figure a major reprieve after years of controversy.
The order came from Special Judge Dig Vinay Singh, who ruled that the April 1 direction issued by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate could not stand. The earlier order had asked the Delhi Police to examine Mishra&rsquo;s alleged presence and conduct during a disturbance linked to anti-CAA protests on February 23, 2020. &ldquo;The order passed by the Magistrate is set aside qua the alleged incident that took place on February 23,&rdquo; the judge remarked.
Mishra, who has repeatedly denied inciting violence, had long argued that the accusations stemmed from politically motivated interpretations of the day&rsquo;s events rather than verifiable evidence.
The case originated from a plea filed by Mohammad Ilyas of Yamuna Vihar, who claimed he saw Mishra and a group of men blocking a road in Kardampuri and damaging vendors&rsquo; carts. He also alleged that a senior police officer, then the DCP of the area, stood beside Mishra during the tense standoff.
Those claims prompted the magistrate&rsquo;s earlier directive, which questioned the broader investigative framework used by Delhi Police during the 2020 riots probe. In that order, the magistrate remarked that several conclusions offered by investigators lacked firm grounding. He wrote that once &ldquo;these flaws are outlined, therefore the theory goes off,&rdquo; challenging how the police had linked anti-CAA protest sites to a premeditated conspiracy. He further observed that key assumptions, including the idea that women protesters were strategically placed to restrict police movement, &ldquo;can be interpreted otherwise.&rdquo;
With the sessions court&rsquo;s fresh ruling, the demand for an FIR against Mishra and others has effectively collapsed though questions raised earlier about the quality of the larger riot investigation still linger over the case&rsquo;s legacy.

Court Quashes FIR Move Against Kapil Mishra

Sessions court overturns magistrate order amid dispute over Mishra’s 2020 riot role

Court Quashes FIR Move Against Kapil Mishra

Sessions court overturns magistrate order amid dispute over Mishra’s 2020 riot role

November 10, 2025 | 16:26 IST