New Delhi, July 14: (IANS) A Delhi court on Tuesday fixed July 23 for
hearing arguments on the quantum of sentence for former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
councillor Tahir Hussain and four others convicted in the murder of
Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 North-East Delhi
riots.
The Karkardooma Court said it would commence hearing arguments on sentencing from July 23 after delivering its judgment on Monday, convicting Hussain, Javed, Anas, Nazim, and Kasim in the murder case.
In its detailed 320-page judgment, Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh held Hussain guilty under Sections 302 (murder), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person), 188 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The four co-convicts were also held guilty of the same offences, while all five were acquitted of the charge of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the IPC. The court also acquitted six other accused, holding that the prosecution had failed to establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The case relates to the killing of IB officer Ankit Sharma, whose body was recovered from a drain in the Khajuri Khas area on February 26, 2020, during the communal violence that rocked North-East Delhi.
According to the prosecution, Hussain and the co-accused were part of an unlawful assembly that abducted and murdered Sharma during the riots.
An FIR was registered on the complaint of Sharma's father, Ravinder Kumar, who alleged that his son had left home on February 25 to purchase household items but did not return. In March 2023, the trial court had framed charges against 11 accused, including Hussain, for offences including rioting, promoting enmity between different groups, murder and criminal conspiracy.
At the stage of framing of charges, the prosecution had also claimed that Hussain had incited the mob to target Hindus and exhorted them to "not spare them".
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had dismissed Hussain's plea seeking bail in the case after considering the allegations and the material placed on record.
