New Delhi, February 27: Hearing on the pleas seeking FIR against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders for alleged hate speech was adjourned for four weeks by the Delhi High Court on Thursday. The adjournment came after the counsel representing Delhi Police said the investigators would need more time to decide whether a case must be filed against the BJP politicians for their alleged inflammatory remarks.

Advocate Colin Gonsalves, who represented the petitioners before the High Court, had demanded the bench to order the immediate registration of FIRs in the hate speech case. Inaction by the police, he argued before the court, would further embolden agent provocateurs to instigate violence and communal bloodshed. Delhi Violence: 'Situation Returning to Normal in North East District,' Says Special Commissioner SN Shrivastava.

The Delhi Police, however, maintained that it would be "inappropriate" to file FIRs against politicians at this stage. Registering a case would not aid in restoring peace and harmony, the counsel representing the civil force said, adding 48 other FIRs have been registered to crackdown against those involved in the riots.

Update by ANI

The High Court made the central government a party into the case over North East Delhi violence. The bench headed by Chief Justice asked the Centre to submit a reply on April 13.

The court's adjournment of matter for four weeks came as a disappointment to the petitioners, who were hopeful of immediate action against BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Abhay Verma and Parvesh Verma for their alleged provocative remarks. Incidentally, Justice Muralidhar, who was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court with immediate effect on Wednesday night, had asked the police yesterday to take a "conscious decision" on filing of FIRs by Thursday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 27, 2020 03:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).