Religious intolerance, riots and Bollywood occupied Delhi’s courts in 2022

New Delhi: High profile corruption cases against Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Minister Satyendar Jain, former NSE boss Chitra Ramakrishna and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey have caught the attention of Delhi courts in 2022.

The terrorist case against former JNU student Umar Khalid and the money laundering case against Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez were some of the other highlights as the courts moved from virtual mode to physical mode as the Covid situation subsided. PTI

YASIN MALIK CONVICTED
Kashmiri separatist leader Mohammad Yasin Malik has been found guilty in a terrorist financing case and sentenced to life imprisonment. During his sentencing, the judge said the crimes he committed were aimed at striking at the heart of “the idea of ​​India” and forcibly seceding from J&K of the Indian Union. In December, another court acquitted former JNU student Umar Khalid and United Against Hate founder Khalid Saifi in a case related to the 2020 riots in northeast Delhi. While Saifi got regular bail in another case, Khalid was only able to get a seven-day provisional bond to attend his sister’s wedding. Both face charges under the strict UAPA anti-terrorism law and remain in prison.

“A NECESSARY VOICE OF DISSENTATION”
The co-founder of the fact-checking site Alt News, Mohammed Zubair, was arrested on June 27 in a case linked to a 2018 “objectionable tweet” against a Hindu deity. He was released on bail on July 15 by the court, which said “the voice of dissent is necessary for a healthy democracy” and that the Hindu religion and its followers are “tolerant”. Besides the case against Zubair, the courts have also dealt with a significant number of other cases of alleged harm to religious feelings, including the arrest of University of Delhi Associate Professor Ratan Lal in May for his “imprehensible remarks” on social media regarding allegations of a ‘Shivling’ found at the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi.

LEASE IN CASE OF SEDITION IN SHARJEEL
Sharjeel Imam, another former JNU student, was also able to secure bail in a sedition case in which he was accused of fomenting the December 2019 riots in Jamia. He is, however, still in prison in cases related to the Delhi riots. A city court has ordered charges against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Tahir Hussain and others in several cases related to the North East Delhi riots throughout the year.
The case related to the Jahangirpuri riots during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in April where a sub-inspector of police was shot, also made headlines during the year. In an indictment filed in court, 45 people were charged with criminal association and other offences. A court has also dealt with the custody of the accused in the Bulli Bai app case linked to the ‘auction’ of Muslim women that sparked outrage.

CASE OF THE FILMAST ‘CALI’
In another case of alleged religious intolerance, filmmaker Leena Manimekalai had to appear in court here in response to a request to stop her portraying a Hindu goddess in her upcoming film ‘Kaali’ in a ‘reprehensible way’. The court will continue hearing arguments in January. The alleged visa scam case against Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, the issuance and subsequent withdrawal of the LOC against Aakar Patel, Managing Director of Amnesty International India, and the alleged kidnapping, gang rape and parade of a 20-year-old woman in Kasturba Nagar, east Delhi, also continued to make the front pages of national dailies.