‘Lackadaisical approach’: court pulls up Delhi Police over ‘inadequate’ probe into Law Minister Kapil Mishra’s 2020 post
The case, lodged under Section 125 of the RPA, pertains to allegations that Kapil Mishra made objectionable statements in the electronic media in 2020.
Written by Nirbhay Thakur
New Delhi | Updated: May 27, 2025 12:03 PM IST
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BJP leader Kapil Mishra. (File Photo)
A court Monday pulled up the Delhi Police for an “inadequate” investigation in a case lodged against Law and Justice Minister and BJP leader Kapil Mishra under the Representation of the People Act (RPA), accusing him of promoting communal enmity.
The case, lodged under Section 125 (promoting enmity between classes in connection with election) of the RPA, pertains to allegations that Mishra made objectionable statements in the electronic media in 2020, like “Delhi mein chhote chhote Pakistan bane (there are mini Pakistans in Delhi)” and “Shaheen Bagh mein Pak ki entry (Pakistan has entered Shaheen Bagh)”. The case also pertained to a social media post by Mishra that there will be an “India vs Pakistan” contest on the “streets of Delhi” on February 8, the day of the elections in 2020.
“No one is present on behalf of the investigating agency to follow up the directions of further investigation and before any stringent remarks could be made upon the casual attitude of the investigating agency qua the directions of this Court, this Court is constrained to bring it to the notice of Worthy Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police, with respect to the state of affairs and non-adequate explanation on the part of the Investigating Agency,” said Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia in his order dated May 26.
“Without fail, the diligent endeavour was made by this Court vide order-sheets dated 20.03.2024, 20.04.2024, 10.05.2024, 15.05.2024, 01.06.2024, 01.07.2024, 11.07.2024, 22.07.2024, 20.03.2025, 08.04.2025 for the collection of evidence qua Twitter handle of the accused, but in vain,” ACJM Chaurasia said and added that the Delhi Police had shown a “lackadaisical approach”.
Senior Advocate Pavan Narang, who appeared for Mishra, said, “INC and AAP propagate that they are secular in nature. My party also has secular credentials. What I’m trying to show, that under the garb of secular character, these parties are trying to promote religion-specific agendas. I’ve a right to place that before the public. The prosecution has no legally admissible documents or evidence”.
While referring to the posts which hadn’t been procured by the Delhi Police yet, the judge said, “The agency has to at least procure the essential material which must be part of the investigation”.
“The accused has not said anything about any community based on its religion…The only thing he has alleged is that the two political parties (Congress and Aam Aadmi Party) are trying to create mini-Pakistans like Shaheen Bagh,” argued Narang. “He is talking about the policies and ideologies of AAP and Congress, and he is not pitting two religious groups against one another,” he added.
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Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia said the copy of the order has to be sent to Worthy Joint Commissioner, Northern Range, “to do the needful as already his Worthy office was well-acquainted with the state of affairs on 20.03.2025”.
Arguments on the charge will now be heard in this case on July 7.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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