An enquiry has failed to establish how the details of investigation into a Delhi riots case were shared with media, Delhi Police has told the Delhi High Court in a status report on accused Asif Iqbal Tanha’s plea alleging that the content of charge sheets was leaked even before cognisance was taken by the concerned court. Justice Mukta Gupta Thursday said meanwhile that she would read Delhi Police’s separate enquiry report received by her in a sealed cover and listed Tanha’s plea for hearing on August 11.
Advocate Rajat Nair, appearing for Delhi Police, informed the court that the status report was also filed in the matter. In the status report, Delhi police said that while a detailed enquiry was conducted into the allegations by the DCP, Crime pursuant to the court’s order, it could not be found how the alleged leakage took place.
The enquiry officer, during the enquiry could not establish the officers/office from where the details of investigation were shared with the media, the status report reads. It is further informed various media personnel, who were examined during the process, refused to share the details of their source and directions are being issued to handle the case files with utmost alacrity to ensure that such issues are not raised in future.
Further directions are being issued that case files must be handled with utmost alacrity and the charge sheets be also filed strictly following the due process of law, states the status report. Delhi Police asserted that no prejudice has been caused to Tanha in his exercise of right to free and fair trial.
Tanha, a JMI student, had moved the high court last year, alleging misconduct by police officials in leaking his alleged disclosure statement in the main charge sheet, recorded by the probe agency during the investigation, to the media even before cognisance was taken by the concerned court On July 6, the high court had sought a report on the comprehensive enquiry on the allegations of leakage. On an earlier occasion, it had expressed dissatisfaction over the police’s vigilance inquiry report into the leakage, terming the inquiry to be worse than an ordinary inquiry in a petty theft case.
Tanha, in his petition, said he was aggrieved by various publications reporting that he has confessed to orchestrating the Delhi riots and alleged that he was coerced to sign certain papers in the effective custody of police. He had contended that the action of two media houses in placing contents from charge sheet in the media violated the programme code.
Tanha, who was arrested in May 2020, was recently released from jail after the high court granted him bail in the riots case on larger conspiracy. The police had said that Tanha, a resident of Abul Fazal Enclave in Shaheen Bagh, was a member of the Students Islamic Organization and was part of the Jamia Coordination Committee which spearheaded protests against the new citizenship law.
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