The Delhi High Court has sought the Delhi Police’s response to an appeal filed by former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain challenging his conviction and life sentence in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.
A Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan also called for the nominal roll and directed that the appeal be heard along with connected matters.
Background of the Case
Sharma went missing on February 25, 2020, amid the communal violence in North-East Delhi. His body was later recovered from a drain. The prosecution case led to Hussain and four others being convicted by the Karkardooma Courts.
On July 13, the trial court convicted the accused under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including murder, rioting, unlawful assembly and kidnapping. On July 31, Hussain and the other accused were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The prosecution had sought the death penalty.
Appearing for Hussain, senior advocate Rajiv Mohan submitted that Hussain had been convicted for only one substantive offence, while the remaining offences were fastened with the aid of unlawful assembly provisions.
He also argued that evidence relied upon by the trial court had not been properly appreciated.
The Delhi Police opposed the request for separate consideration of the appeal and sought a joint hearing with connected appeals.
The Bench agreed that the connected appeals should be considered together.
“Admit. Issue notice. Call for nominal roll. List along with connected appeals on December 02.”
The Court also observed that the matter involved the loss of a young life and said that hearing the connected appeals together would save judicial time.
The High Court accordingly issued notice to the Delhi Police, called for the nominal roll and fixed the matter for hearing along with the connected appeals on December 2.
