Court Orders FIR Against Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra in 2020 Riots Case

The court order against Kapil Mishra coincides with reports highlighting that a significant number of newly appointed ministers in the Delhi BJP government are facing serious criminal charges. 

By Rakesh Raman

A Delhi court has directed the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) and further investigation against Delhi Law and Justice Minister and BJP leader Kapil Mishra concerning his alleged involvement in the 2020 communal riots that devastated Northeast Delhi. This development comes amidst broader scrutiny of newly appointed BJP ministers in Delhi facing serious criminal cases and reports alleging the complicity of the Delhi Police in the 2020 violence.

The communal violence, which erupted between February 24 and 26, 2020, resulted in the tragic deaths of 53 people and left over 500 individuals injured, with significant property damage reported. The court order, issued on April 1, followed the rejection of Kapil Mishra’s revision plea against summons. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia granted the application of the complainant, Yamuna Vihar resident Mohammad Ilyas, who had sought an FIR against Mishra, the then Station House Officer (SHO) of Dayalpur police station, and five others, including BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht and former party legislator Jagdish Pradhan. The judge noted that a cognizable offence was made out against Mishra.

Mohammad Ilyas, represented by Mehmood Pracha, stated in his complaint that he witnessed Mishra and others obstructing a road in Northeast Delhi’s Kardampuri and destroying vendors’ carts. The complainant further alleged that the then Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Northeast Delhi, was present alongside Mishra and other police personnel, warning protestors to vacate the area or face consequences. Ilyas also claimed to have seen the then Dayalpur SHO, along with BJP leaders Pradhan and Bisht, vandalising mosques across Northeast Delhi.

It is noteworthy that in February this year, the Delhi Police opposed the complainant’s plea, asserting that Mishra was being “framed” and had no role in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots. Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad informed the court that Mishra’s role had already been investigated in the larger conspiracy behind the riots, and nothing incriminating was found against him.

This is not the only legal scrutiny faced by Kapil Mishra. In March, a magistrate court announced it would commence hearing arguments on charges against him in another case lodged under the Representation of the People Act (RPA). This case accuses him of promoting communal enmity during the 2020 Delhi Assembly Elections held in February.

The court order against Kapil Mishra coincides with reports highlighting that a significant number of newly appointed ministers in the Delhi BJP government are facing serious criminal charges. 

Following the 2025 Delhi Assembly election, where results were declared on February 8th, it was reported that 5 out of the total 7 ministers, including Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, had declared criminal cases against themselves. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) reportedly found these cases based on self-sworn affidavits submitted by the ministers ahead of the election. This indicates that 71% of Delhi ministers have serious criminal records.

Along with Rekha Gupta, Kapil Mishra was among the six other BJP MLAs – Parvesh Verma, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Pankaj Singh, Ravinder Indraj Singh, and Ashish Sood – appointed as cabinet ministers on February 20th.

According to one report, Kapil Mishra is described as a “rowdy” whose name surfaced in the 2020 Delhi communal riots. He is also accused of openly delivering hate speeches and shouting communal slogans against Muslims. The report further alleges that due to the protection of the “Modi regime,” which purportedly politicises religion for electoral gains, no legal action had been taken against Mishra for allegedly instigating violence.

Another newly appointed Delhi minister, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who joined the BJP from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), had a Look out Circular (LOC) issued against him by the Delhi Police in 2021 in connection with a case of alleged misappropriation of funds during his tenure as an office-bearer of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC). It is speculated that Sirsa joined the BJP in the hope of having these corruption cases dropped, a trend allegedly observed where opposition leaders facing corruption investigations get “reprieve” after joining the BJP.

Parvesh Verma, another BJP minister in the Delhi government, is accused of terrorising people in 2020 by making inflammatory statements against Muslims. He allegedly threatened that Muslims would enter houses, rape women, and kill them. These remarks were reportedly made during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), an anti-Muslim law introduced by the Modi government. Verma, while a BJP MP in Delhi in 2019, also allegedly threatened to remove Muslim mosques and graveyards if the BJP formed the government in Delhi.

Furthermore, a fact-finding committee report released in October 2022, titled “Uncertain Justice: A Citizens Committee Report on the North East Delhi Violence 2020,” has alleged complicity of the Delhi Police in the 2020 communal riots. The committee, headed by a former Supreme Court judge, Madan B. Lokur, concluded that Delhi Police colluded with criminal elements to commit a pogrom against Muslims and behaved as an active party in the riots.

The report claims that the Delhi Police, due to a lack of professionalism, advanced the political narrative of the ruling BJP to attack anti-CAA protesters. It further states that police chargesheets echoed the prejudices of Hindu majoritarian forces of BJP without sufficient evidence. Earlier, in 2021, a local court in Delhi reportedly found the standard of investigation into numerous 2020 northeast Delhi riots cases to be “very poor”.

The probe committee also accused the Union home ministry, headed by minister Amit Shah, of deliberately delaying the deployment of additional forces in the violence-affected areas. The violence occurred while the Modi government was failing to stop peaceful protests against the CAA. The report also suggests that the investigations into the riots were blatantly communal in favour of the BJP and its supporters.

The recent court order directing the registration of an FIR against Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra adds a significant layer to the already contentious situation surrounding the 2020 Delhi riots and the composition of the newly formed BJP government in Delhi. The allegations of ministerial criminal records and police complicity raise serious questions about justice and accountability in the aftermath of the devastating communal violence.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.