"Extra-judicial commissions" creating false narratives around 2020 Delhi Riots: Central government to Delhi High Court

The Central government has filed an affidavit before the Delhi High Court denouncing the practice of some NGOs and other 'vested interests' constituting 'extra-judicial commissions' to investigate certain offences and create narratives which may lead to 'social and political unrest'. .The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that this is a 'sinister practise' being adopted in cases related to Naxals or offences where two different religious communities or castes are involved. These 'private and extra-judicial commissions’ headed by retired bureaucrats, constitutional functionaries or self-proclaimed activists give the impression that the incidents were backed by the government of the day, it added. "Based on the fake, false or half true facts presented before it these 'private and extrajudicial commissions' enters into a, so called, process of collecting and recording evidences to give it a façade of statutory inquiry or investigation and after conducting such exercise comes out with a completely biased report which in most of the cases is found to be report acting as a cover-up to the offence and portraying real accused as victims of the crimes and real victims the accused of crimes.".The affidavit dated September 19, 2022 was filed by the Centre in support of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking quashing of different reports prepared by the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC), Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Citizens and Lawyers Initiative on the Delhi Riots of 2020.The main plea, filed by one Dharmesh Sharma, also sought quashing of an inquiry panel set up by an organisation called Constitutional Conduct Group.In the plea, filed through Advocate Ashish Dixit and Ravi Sharma, the petitioner has stated that his family used to run a school in Delhi's Mustafabad area, which was burned down during the riots. He said that the reports published by the DMC as well as other organisations are biased and impede the due process of law.In its response, the Centre has said that the DMC report is not only without jurisdiction, but also 'fake', and has been engineered by people with 'oblique and extraneous motives'.With regard to other reports, the government said that they abrogate fair trial and should be declared non-est so that they are not relied upon by any judicial forum, including courts..The Centre's affidavit, filed through Advocate Monika Arora, has said that these reports are circulated in the public domain, particularly on social media, and emphasis is laid on the names and positions held by the people heading the commissions to give them legitimacy and pass them on as reports prepared by judicial commissions. “The aforesaid inevitably has an effect of impeding and thwarting the course of justice by a systematic interfering in the administration of justice. The said reports thus, in the respectful submission of the Union of India, are anathema to the administration of justice, and are therefore, liable to be quashed and set aside,” the affidavit states..It was further stated that these reports are pressed before the investigating authorities and courts who are pressured to not differ from the findings."The aforesaid inevitably has an effect of impeding and thwarting the course of justice by a systematic interfering in the administration of justice. The said reports thus, in the respectful submission of the Union of India, are anathema to the administration of justice ,and are therefore, liable to be quashed and set aside.".During today's hearing of the matter, a Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad was told that another bench is seized of similar matters. The Court, therefore, transferred the case to a Bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul. The matter will now be heard on February 10.