Asif Iqbal Tanha, an accused in the 2020 north-east Delhi riots case, had first moved the High Court in 2020 against certain media houses.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO
Justice Amit Sharma of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday recused from hearing a petition by Asif Iqbal Tanha, an accused in the 2020 north-east Delhi riots, against the alleged leak of his “disclosure statement” to the media.
Last week, another judge had recused from hearing the case, saying a court’s act should never have a deleterious impact on the justice system’s credibility. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani had expressed his reservations on hearing the matter after the News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA), with whom he had “past association”, sought an intervention application in the case.
On Wednesday, Justice Sharma said, “List before another Bench subject to the orders of the Chief Justice on April 24.” The case was listed for hearing before the judge following the recusal of Justice Bhambhani.
During the hearing, Mr. Tanha’s counsel said the present case did not “arise” as such from the 2020 riots FIR, but the petitioner was an accused in that case and his purported disclosure statement was put in public domain by certain media organisations even before the chargesheet was filed and taken cognisance of.
Special public prosecutor Amit Prasad informed the HC that the chargesheet has now been filed in the case being investigated by the Delhi Police Special Cell.
The counsel for Delhi Police counsel said an inquiry was carried out into the allegations of leak and a report was submitted before the court.
Plea filed in 2020
Mr. Tanha had moved the HC in 2020 against certain media houses for allegedly disseminating his purported admission of guilt before cognisance was taken by the trial court.
He had objected to the “intervention” by the NBDA in the matter on grounds that the association, which was “not interested” in the issue of broadcast of the alleged disclosure statement when a complaint was made to it, had now filed the intervention application in order to ensure that the eventuality of Justice Bhambhani’s recusal “must come true”.
The NBDA had sought to intervene on grounds that the petition concerned prays for registration of FIRs against journalists, which would have ramifications, and “being a well-recognised body”, it thus “wanted to assist the court in the matter”.
In his petition, Mr. Tanha said he was aggrieved by various publications reporting that he has confessed to orchestrating the riots.
It added that he was coerced to sign certain papers in the effective custody of police.
The petitioner has contended that the action of two media houses of placing contents from the chargesheet in public domain has violated the programme code.
Arrested in May 2020, Mr. Tanha was released from jail in June 2021 after the HC granted him bail in the charge of being part of the larger conspiracy behind the north-east Delhi riots.
In its report on the leak allegations, Delhi Police said that while the inquiry could not establish how the details of the investigation were shared with the media, no prejudice was caused to Mr. Tanha in his exercise of right to a free and fair trial.
Mr. Tanha’s counsel had earlier told the court that the inquiry into the leak was an “eyewash”.
