The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected activist Devangana Kalita’s plea to reconstruct police case diaries in a 2020 Delhi riots case. The court, however, confirmed an interim order directing the police to preserve the diaries.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected the plea of Pinjra Tod activist Devangana Kalita seeking the reconstruction of case diaries in a Delhi riots case in which she is an accused. The case relates to incidents during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests and a road blockade near Jafrabad metro station in 2020.
Justice Ravinder Dudeja delivered the judgment, confirming an earlier interim order that had directed the Delhi Police to preserve the case diaries.
The Court said,
“The petition is partly allowed. As far as the request for preservation is concerned, the interim order is made absolute. For reconstruction of police diary, request is rejected,”
Kalita had filed the petition seeking directions to preserve and reconstruct the police case diaries, citing concerns that the Delhi Police may have tampered with them.
She alleged that witness statements in the case diaries were ante-dated, raising questions about the authenticity and reliability of the records.
Earlier, a trial court had dismissed Kalita’s plea to secure the case diaries. The court had observed that statements recorded under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) do not form a substantive part of evidence.
“While there may be merits in the submissions of the Ld. Counsel for the accused persons, but at this stage, this court cannot go into the truthfulness and veracity of the allegations,”
the trial court had stated in its order dated November 6, 2024.
Kalita then challenged this decision before the Delhi High Court. In December 2024, Justice Jasmeet Singh had passed an interim order directing the police to preserve the case diaries.
The High Court has now confirmed this interim order, ensuring that the diaries are maintained as they are, but rejected the request to reconstruct them.
Advocates Adit S Pujari, Vanya Chhabra, and Siddharth Kaushal represented Kalita in the proceedings. Special Public Prosecutor Anuj Handa, along with Advocates Sanya Handa, Shubham Pandey, and Akansha Chandok, appeared on behalf of the State.
This ruling comes amid ongoing scrutiny of police procedures in politically sensitive cases and highlights the court’s cautious approach in matters concerning the authenticity of police records and evidence.
Case Title:
Devangana Kalita Vs. State NCT of Delhi
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