WhatsApp chats can't be substantive evidence: Court in 5 murder cases linked to 2020 Delhi riots

Indian Express

26-05-2025

WhatsApp chats cannot be 'substantive evidence', a Delhi court has ruled in five murder cases lodged during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots. It ruled that these chats can at best be used as 'a corroborative piece of evidence'.
In all five cases, where the 12 accused are common, the prosecution had relied heavily on WhatsApp chats as evidence.
These are among nine cases filed in connection with the murder of nine men, whose bodies were recovered a week after the riots. Of the remaining four cases, one has ended in acquittal, and three are at the stage of final arguments and statements of the accused.
A total of 53 people died and over 500 were injured in the riots.
In all five cases, the Delhi Police primarily relied on the chats of a WhatsApp group named 'Kattar Hindu Ekta'; multiple chargesheets filed by the police also named this group.
According to the chargesheet, one of the accused, Lokesh Solanki, allegedly wrote on the WhatsApp group: 'Your brother has killed 2 Muslim men at 9 o'clock.' Solanki's questioning had led to the arrest of other persons, who were eventually accused of the nine murders.
Acquitting the accused, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Pulastya Pramachala of Karkardooma Court noted in all five orders: 'Such posts may be put in the group solely with the intention of becoming a hero in the estimation of other members of the group. It could be a boast, without truth. Therefore, the relied upon chats cannot be substantive evidence to show that the accused… had actually killed two Muslim persons. These chats at the most could be used as a corroborative piece of evidence.' The police relied on the same chats in all nine murder cases.
While acquitting the accused, the court also pointed to the lack of reliable witnesses.
In a case filed in connection with the murder of Hashim Ali, the court in its April 30 judgment said there were no eyewitnesses and acquitted the 12 accused. 'They (WhatsApp chats) cannot form the sole basis for conviction due to their inherent weaknesses and they must be supported by independent, reliable evidence,' the court noted, adding that, except for one witness, no one else claimed to have seen the incident.
In another judgment, pronounced on March 28, the court noted that it was 'sure about the murder of Amin, but not sure about the incident of his murder.' In this case, too, all but one witness had turned hostile.
In another judgment pronounced on March 28 regarding the murder of Bhure Ali, the court noted that 'none of the witnesses vouched to have seen the incident of assault and murder on Bhure'.
In another judgment dated March 27, the court noted that it was not 'sure about the incident wherein Hamza (a riot victim) was killed.' It added: '… and when there is no clarity from the evidence as to which mob had killed Hamza, then it is only a formality to say that there is no evidence on the record to show that any of the accused was a member of the culprit mob.' All witnesses in the case had turned hostile.
In a judgement passed on May 13, the court of ASJ Pramachala acquitted all accused persons of murder, but convicted Solanki on charges of making statements conducing public mischief and promoting enmity.
'It is also well apparent that the intent of the messages posted by accused Lokesh was to instigate the others against Muslim persons. This act was in fact like spreading hatred for Muslim persons and to instigate others to resort to violence against them,' the court said.
According to the court orders, 109 judgments have been passed in the 700 FIRs related to the rioting, arson and murder cases lodged by the Northeast Delhi police from February 2020 to February 2025. While 90 have resulted in acquittals (82%), 19 have ended in convictions (18%). In 51 of the 90 (57%) acquittals, witnesses have turned hostile.