No Steps Taken To Prosecute Delhi Riots Cases: Court Pulls Up Top Cop
NDTV
The judge said that the failure on the part of the police officers to take appropriate measures to prosecute the riot cases is causing "avoidable delay in the trial."
A Delhi court on Friday came down heavily on the city police for its "lackadaisical approach" and said that no steps for the proper prosecution of 2020 riots cases have been taken by the Police Commissioner and other top officials.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Arun Kumar Garg made the remarks after the prosecutor failed to appear before the court despite repeated calls and the Investigating Officer (IO) came to the court late without reading the police file and was unable to answer the court's queries.
The judge said that the record reveals that the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) has not been appearing in the case for many dates and even on the last date of hearing, he appeared only after the matter was adjourned.
The judge further said, "This court is pained to note that the Station House Officer (SHO) Gokalpuri has not only failed to depute the substitute IO but also to ensure that the IO while appearing at 3:25 pm, should at least have gone through the case files. He has also failed to ensure the presence of SPP."