A Delhi court has acquitted 30 Hindu men who had faced trial in four separate cases linked to the February 2020 communal riots in North East Delhi, where they were accused of murdering three Muslim men and engaging in looting and arson.
The acquittals, delivered between May 13 and May 17 by Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala of the Karkardooma Court, came after the prosecution reportedly failed to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The riots, which erupted during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, left 53 people dead—most of them Muslims—and hundreds injured, with extensive damage to homes, businesses, and religious sites.
The violence was triggered by confrontations between supporters and opponents of the controversial law, but investigations and reports have pointed to deeper communal fault lines, with allegations of state complicity and targeted attacks on Muslim localities.
Among the cases reviewed by the court, one involved the killing of Shahbaz, who was allegedly beaten and burned alive, while another pertained to Akil Ahmed, who reportedly died from a blunt force injury to the head. The third murder case concerned Aamir Ali, and all three cases were initiated based on statements provided by an assistant sub-inspector, according to Live Law.
In the case of Aamir Ali’s death, 14 men were acquitted of charges including rioting, unlawful assembly, and murder, although one individual, Lokesh Kumar Solanki, was convicted for promoting enmity between groups and spreading public mischief. The remaining three cases, including one related to the looting and torching of a Muslim-owned medical shop, concluded with full acquittals due to insufficient evidence.
While the Delhi Police has maintained that the riots were part of a broader conspiracy aimed at defaming the central government, attributing blame to anti-CAA protest organisers, a fact-finding committee set up by the Delhi Minorities Commission concluded that the violence was incited by provocative speeches from leaders affiliated with the ruling party.