Delhi court orders FIR over 2020 targeted attack on Muslim family

In a rare legal acknowledgment of individual victim accounts from the 2020 North-East Delhi pogrom, a Delhi court has directed the registration of a separate First Information Report (FIR) for a targeted attack on a Muslim family. Judicial Magistrate First Class Isra Zaidi passed the order at the Karkardooma Courts in response to a complaint filed by Rahees Ahmed.

The court observed that the complaint disclosed the commission of “grave and cognizable offences,” which could not be merged with a broader or unrelated FIR. “Such grave allegations cannot be allowed to be diluted or bypassed merely by clubbing with a general FIR,” Magistrate Zaidi stated.

According to Ahmed, his family was attacked during the 2020 violence by a mob armed with sticks, rods, and petrol bombs. The complaint alleges that the assailants burgled their home, set fire to a tent house, and looted valuables, including cash and jewellery. Named among the accused are Vinod, Tinku, Aadesh, Mahesh, Suresh, Monu, and Anshu, among others.

The mob reportedly chanted slogans such as “Jagdish Pradhan Zindabad” and “Kapil Mishra Zindabad” while pelting stones, hurling communal abuses, and engaging in violence involving firearms and lathis.

Ahmed also accused the police of failing to act on his earlier complaint. The court held that the complainant could not be forced to seek redress through a generic FIR that lacked the specific details of his case.

The court’s directive to file a separate FIR marks a significant development in the legal landscape surrounding the 2020 pogrom, which disproportionately impacted Muslims in the region. It stands as one of the few judicial recognitions of targeted violence and individual grievances stemming from the events, where affected families were left devastated and properties destroyed.