The Delhi High Court said Asif Iqbal Tanha’s plea on alleged disclosure statement leak has “nothing left,” with Justice Saurabh Banerjee noting five-year delay and near infructuous status.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court observed there was “nothing left” in the petition filed by Delhi riots accused Asif Iqbal Tanha challenging the alleged leak of his “disclosure statement” to the media, noting that more than five years have elapsed since the plea was filed and it stood “on the verge of becoming infructuous”.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee, stressing that the high court is neither an RTI forum nor a fact-finding body, questioned why the petitioner had not taken steps to seek registration of an FIR in the matter.
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Tanha’s petition alleged that several media organisations published his purported admission of guilt in the riots case, and sought action against police officials accused of sharing “sensitive information” with the press. He was arrested in May 2020 and granted bail by the high court in June 2021 in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Justice Banerjee gave his “prima facie view”, observing that “much water has flowed” since the petition was filed in August 2020.
The court remarked,
“I agree with her submission there may be rightful intention to approach the high court but after lapse of five years what is left? The petitioner has not exercised his fundamental right of taking recourse to appropriate provision of law,”
The court added,
“The case has lived its life. It is on the verge of being infructuous. There is nothing left in this,”
Tanha had approached the high court in 2020 against certain media outlets for publishing his alleged confession in a case relating to the alleged “larger conspiracy” behind the 2020 communal violence, before the trial court took cognisance. His counsel, Advocate Sowjhanya Shankaran, argued that an inquiry into the leak was necessary since the petitioner continues to be affected and charges in the case remain to be framed.
She told the court that the five-year delay was not attributable to the parties’ diligence and that the case could not be taken up for hearing after 2023. The court asked whether any legal bar existed to filing an FIR against the police officials and listed the matter for further hearing in April.
In his petition, Tanha said he was aggrieved by reports that he had confessed to orchestrating the 2020 northeast Delhi riots and alleged he was coerced into signing certain documents while in police custody. He contended that two media organisations publishing contents from the chargesheet violated the programme code and sought directions to have the confidential material removed. He also sought an inquiry into the conduct of the police officers who allegedly shared the sensitive material.
In a status report, police said their probe could not determine how investigation details reached the media but maintained that no prejudice was caused to Tanha’s right to a free and fair trial. Tanha’s counsel has previously described the police’s internal inquiry into the “leak” as an “eyewash”.
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