A Delhi court on Wednesday stayed a lower court’s direction for further investigation against BJP leader and Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra in connection with the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Courts issued notice on a revision petition filed by the Delhi Police challenging the April 1 order passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACJM).

"Let notice of the revision petition be issued to the respondents returnable on April 21, 2025.

The record of the ACJM’s court be also requisitioned. In the meantime, the operation of the impugned order shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing," the judge said.

The Delhi Police argued that the ACJM had erred in ordering further investigation despite the complainant seeking registration of an FIR under Section 156(3) CrPC. They contended that the matter involved a larger conspiracy already under probe in a pending UAPA case and fell under the jurisdiction of a special court.

Kapil Mishra was represented by Senior Advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey, along with Advocates Sidhesh Kotwal, Paritosh Anil, Manya Hasija, Tejaswi Khulle, Kushank Sindhu, Rupraj Banerjee, Amrita Vats, Madhav Sareen, and Muskan Sharma. Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad appeared for the State.

In the contested order, the ACJM had observed that a cognizable offence appeared to be made out against Mishra concerning one of the incidents detailed in the complaint.

The court noted that Mishra, during interrogation, had acknowledged being present in the area, with people gathered around him whom he claimed to know — a factor that, according to the judge, lent weight to the complainant’s allegations.

The complaint was filed by Mohd. Ilyas, who alleged that on February 23, 2020, Mishra and his associates blocked a road and vandalized street vendors’ carts in the presence of senior police officials. He had sought FIRs against Mishra, the then SHO of Dayalpur, and five others, including BJP MLA Mohan Singh Bisht and former MLAs Jagdish Pradhan and Satpal Sansad.

Before the ACJM, the Delhi Police had opposed the plea, claiming it was part of a deliberate attempt to frame Mishra and that he had no involvement in the riots