[Tablighi Jamaat] "No investigation has been done:" Delhi High Court pulls up Delhi Police

The Delhi High Court on Monday yet again pulled up the Delhi Police for its conduct in the Tablighi Jamaat incident observing that almost no investigation has been done in the matter [Majid Miya and Ors v State of NCT of Delhi]..The remarks were made by single-judge bench of Justice Mukta Gupta while hearing a bunch of petitions seeking quashing of case against Indian nationals who allegedly housed the Jamaat attendees in March 2020 during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic..The Court was informed that FIR registered said that the attendees came sometime in March but there was no exact date as to when these people came and stayed in the homes of the accused.As the Additional Public Prosecutor tried to submit that the inquiry was made in this regard in the locality but exact information could not be gathered, Justice Gupta remarked that if this was the case, then the officers involved do not deserve to be investigating officers.“Then you officers don't deserve to be investigating officers…The problem is no investigation has been done in the matter,” Justice Gupta remarked..The Court also expressed its displeasure over the fact that no status report had been brought on record. The bench noted that while the second status report was not on record in any of the matters, even the first report was not made available in several cases.The Bench was also informed that two separate FIRs have been filed in the matter. While there is one FIR at the Chandni Mahal Police Station, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has a separate FIR and two distinct chargesheets have also been filed in the matter..The Court directed the Deputy Commission of Police (DCP) Central District to file an affidavit indicating whether the petitioners are accused in the Crime Branch FIR. The Court further ordered the DCP to inform whether there was any prohibition on Indian nationals housing a foreign national who had visited India with valid visa and passport.The Court also asked the State to file status reports in each case.