In a ruling that challenges the communal hysteria of 2020, the Delhi HC has dismissed cases against Indians accused of aiding foreign Tablighi Jamaat members during the pandemic. The media’s ‘Corona Jihad’ narrative now stands legally unfounded.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi, July 17 — In a landmark decision, the Delhi High Court on Thursday quashed 16 FIRs filed against 70 Indian nationals who were accused of sheltering foreign members of the Tablighi Jamaat during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The congregation, held in March 2020 at Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz, had sparked a nationwide media frenzy and led to a torrent of Islamophobic coverage that branded members of the Muslim community as “Corona spreaders.”
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna delivered the order, stating simply, “Chargesheets quashed.” A detailed judgment is awaited.
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The case had drawn intense media and political focus in 2020 when the government and several news channels aggressively portrayed the Tablighi Jamaat event as a superspreader incident. The narrative quickly turned communal, with entire communities being vilified and social media flooded with hashtags and misinformation targeting Muslims. The incident was even cited by the government and authorities to justify crackdowns and arrests, with many claiming the gathering violated lockdown protocols.
So finally Delhi HC quashes 16 cases against 70 Indians accused of sheltering Tablighi Jamaat attendees during COVID-19.
Let’s revisit the shameful chapter when the community was used as scapegoats through an institutionalised campaign fuelled by existing prejudices. 🧵 1/16 pic.twitter.com/deS8Xd44rx
— Rahul Seeker (@sunshine_rahul) July 17, 2025
The accused — all Indian nationals — were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act, and the Foreigners Act. The Delhi Police had alleged that they illegally housed over 190 foreign nationals affiliated with the Tablighi Jamaat, thereby violating lockdown restrictions and endangering public health.
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Legal representatives for the petitioners, advocates Ashima Mandla and Mandakini Singh, argued that the charges were baseless, communal in tone, and lacked evidence of criminal intent. The Delhi Police, represented by Additional Standing Counsel Amol Sinha and a team of advocates, maintained the accused had breached prohibitory orders.
The decision to quash these cases marks the latest in a series of judicial setbacks for the government’s handling of the Tablighi Jamaat fallout. In 2021, the Bombay High Court had already criticized the media and official narrative, noting that foreign nationals were being made scapegoats without sufficient evidence.
This verdict is likely to be seen as a symbolic correction of a deeply polarizing chapter in India’s COVID-19 response — one that not only strained communal relations but also raised serious concerns about media ethics, state accountability, and civil liberties.
