2020 Delhi Riots: Delhi HC Judge Recuses From Hearing Asif Iqbal Tanha Plea

The Delhi High Court judge Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani has recently recused himself from hearing Asif Iqbal Tanha’s petition against the leak of his alleged confession statement to the media in the conspiracy relating to 2020 North-East Delhi riots.

Justice Bhambhani reasoned that no action by the court could have a negative impact on the credibility of the justice system.

“Accordingly, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the submissions, and in the larger interests of the overall credibility of the justice system, this court is persuaded to recuse from the matter,” Justice Bhambhani remarked.

The bench had previously requested a response from the State and certain media platforms in the case in 2020.

The plea stemmed from media reports about Asif’s “disclosure statement” to the Delhi Police. According to reports, he admitted that the riots were planned and that former JNU student Umar Khalid had asked Tanha to hold a ‘chakka jam’ in coordination with other members of the Jamia Coordination Committee.

Tanha moved the Court claiming that the information was leaked by Delhi Police and that an investigation into the misconduct of the official who leaked the information to media platforms such as OpIndia, Zee Media, Facebook, and YouTube was necessary.

He contended that such leaks were detrimental to a fair trial because they tainted the minds of the judge and the public.

Tanha accused the Delhi Police of malicious intent, claiming that the leaked information has no evidentiary value.

Tanha also requested guidelines on how the media should report on ongoing criminal investigations.

Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, appearing on behalf of Tanha contended that the Delhi Police had a responsibility to ensure that anyone who leaked information to the media in the Delhi riots cases was dealt with harshly.