The Delhi high court today set aside an National Human Rights Commission order holding Aam Aadmi Party leader Somnath Bharti guilty of "racial prejudice and unlawful acts" against12 African women during his controversial midnight raid at the Khirki Extension in South Delhi.   

A vacation bench of justices S Muralidhar and ManmohanSingh, while setting aside the September 29 ruling of the NHRC, also directed it to hear the matter afresh and pass a detailed order by taking into account the evidence lead by Bharti in his defence.   

The AAP leader has also been asked to appear before the Commission on the next date of hearing in January. The high court passed the order while disposing of Bharti's appeal against its single judge's decision to dismiss his petition against the NHRC's September 29 ruling.   

Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain and the central government standing counsel Jasmeet Singh appeared for the Union of India in the matter. Bharti in his appeal, filed through advocate Deepak Khosla, had contended that the single judge had dismissed his plea as "premature" without "allowing fair opportunity to explain the facts of the situation before the NHRC and the legal grounds on which the writ petition was eminently maintainable".