Arguments in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 Delhi riots will not have to be heard afresh, after the transfer of the judge who was hearing the case was reversed on Wednesday.

Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai’s transfer was announced on May 30 from the Karkardooma Court to the Saket Court and Additional Sessions Judge Lalit Kumar had replaced him, Live Law reported. This was among 135 transfers of judges in trial courts across Delhi.

This would have delayed the case significantly, as five of the 18 persons accused in the matter and the public prosecutors would have had to present their arguments before the court again.

Bajpai had been hearing the case since September and the case was at the stage of arguments on charges. The trial was expected to begin after the arguments were heard.

This would have been the second time that the case could have been delayed because of a routine transfer of a judge. Earlier, Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat had been hearing the case, before being replaced by Bajpai, Live Law reported.

However, on Wednesday, a notification on the Delhi High Court website stated that Kumar had been transferred back to the Saket Court and Bajpai was brought back to the Karkardooma Court, where the Delhi riots case is being heard.

Notably, Kumar, who replaced Bajpai, heard the case for the first time on June 2 and said that arguments on charges must be expedited, Live Law reported.

The case will be heard next in July now.

Clashes had broken out in North East Delhi in February 2020 between supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing it. The violence left 53 dead and hundreds injured.

The Delhi Police has claimed that the violence was part of a larger conspiracy to defame the Narendra Modi government and was plotted by those who organised the protests against the contentious citizenship law.

Eighteen persons have been booked under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Indian Penal Code. The persons include activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Natasha Narwal, Meeran Haider, former councillors Tahir Hussain and Ishrat Jahan, and Shifa-Ur-Rehman.

Also read: