New Delhi, July 20, 2026: The Supreme Court on July 20 stayed a Delhi High Court order that had allowed Devangana Kalita, an accused in the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots, to inspect electronic evidence collected by the Delhi Police but not relied upon by the prosecution during its investigation.
A Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Alok Aradhe passed the interim order while hearing a challenge filed by the Delhi Police against the High Court's June 6 ruling. While the High Court had rejected Kalita's plea seeking copies of videos of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)-National Register of Citizens (NRC) protests and WhatsApp chats relied upon by the police, citing the sensitive nature of the material, it had permitted her to inspect electronic records and documents that the prosecution had chosen not to rely upon, Live Law reported.
Battle Over Access To Evidence
Appearing for the Delhi Police, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju argued that the Supreme Court had already settled the issue in the Debendra Nath Padhi and Sarla Gupta judgments.
He submitted that an accused is not entitled to inspect documents not relied upon by the prosecution at the stage of framing of charges. According to Raju, Kalita's request was an attempt to delay the trial rather than a legitimate legal exercise.
Counsel for Kalita, however, argued that the defence was only seeking access to videos that allegedly showed her participating in peaceful protests. He contended that if the footage established she was peacefully protesting and not involved in stone-pelting, it would directly support her discharge from the case before trial.
The Bench was not persuaded by the argument. Justice Kumar observed that such a defence could be raised during the trial and not at the stage of framing of charges.
Granting a stay on the High Court's order, the court remarked that Kalita was not entitled to inspect the unrelied material in light of the Sarla Gupta judgment.
The Bench also made a sharp observation on delays in the proceedings, remarking that arguments could continue for another 10 years while complaints of delay persisted.
Earlier Bail And Court Proceedings
Kalita was granted bail by the Delhi High Court in June 2021 along with co-accused Asif Iqbal Tanha and Natasha Narwal. The Supreme Court upheld that order in May 2023 after dismissing the Delhi Police's challenge.
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In a separate development in August 2023, the trial court refused Kalita's request for the entire CCTV footage from north-east Delhi and WhatsApp chats of groups involving police officials in the case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The Supreme Court's latest order marks another significant development in the ongoing legal battle over the scope of access to evidence in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.
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