6 years of Delhi riots…. 53 deaths, 93 out of 116 acquitted, path of justice still full of thorns

By Samira Vishwas On Feb 25, 2026

Delhi Riots 2020 : On 25 February 2026, Delhi riots completed exactly 6 years. But, those burnt marks still remain in those streets of Jafrabad, Maujpur, Bhajanpura and Shiv Vihar of North-East Delhi. Which were withdrawn in February 2020. 53 people lost their lives, hundreds were injured, houses were burnt, shops were looted and religious places were destroyed. Even after 6 years, the justice file is still incomplete.

The violence had its roots in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed in December 2019. Peaceful protests were going on across the country including Shaheen Bagh regarding this law. On 22 February 2020, a women-led road jam at Jafrabad Metro station ignited tensions. A rally in Maujpur the next day on 23 February and the subsequent ultimatum fueled the violence and the fire was not extinguished until 29 February.

Court called police investigation weak

Speakers at the Lest We Forget program organized at the Press Club of India said that out of 116 adjudicated cases, the accused were acquitted in about 93, including murder cases. The court itself many times described the police investigation as weak and raised questions on presenting witnesses who were not at the scene of the incident. Former Rajya Sabha member Brinda Karat also raised questions that unlike the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, no official inquiry commission was even formed to investigate the 2020 riots.

#WATCH | Delhi | On the 6th anniversary of the 2020 Delhi riots, a victim, Ram Das Gupta, says, “Slogans were being chanted across the road, and the police were standing there. Suddenly, people started breaking the railing and coming towards our pump. Stones were thrown at the… pic.twitter.com/AzwMrsuExj
— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2026

What decision has the Supreme Court given?

On January 5, 2026, the Supreme Court gave an important verdict in the so-called big conspiracy case of Delhi riots. A bench of Justices Arvind Kumar and NV Anjaria observed that the role of five accused i.e. Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohammad Salim Khan and Shadab Ahmed was limited and incidental. His detention of nearly 6 years and his stay in jail for so long without trial was considered a violation of personal liberty under Article 21 and he was granted bail. By the way, the bail plea of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam was again rejected.

Also read: Delhi riots accused Umar Khalid finally got interim bail, due to this the heart of the court is saddened.

64 children survived on scholarship

In all but one of the 54 deceased families, the deceased were male breadwinners. 64 children of those families are still living on scholarship. Compensation remained inadequate and economic hardship continues even today. After 6 years, those wounds of Delhi are still not healed. The wait for justice continues.