Court Acquits 12 in 2020 Riots Murder Case
A Delhi court has acquitted 12 individuals in a case connected to the murder of a man during the February 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them beyond reasonable doubt. The verdict, delivered by Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh of the Karkardooma Court on August 25, applies to charges including unlawful assembly, rioting, arson, murder, dacoity, and destruction of evidence.
The acquitted individuals are Lokesh Solanki, Pankaj Sharma, Ankit Chaudhary, Prince, Jatin Sharma, Himanshu Thakur, Vivek Panchal, Rishabh Chaudhary, Sumit Chaudhary, Tinku Arora, Sandeep, and Sahil. The court also convicted Himanshu Thakur for possession of stolen property under Section 411 of the Indian Penal Code.
Court's Reasoning
In his judgment, Judge Singh emphasized that membership in an unlawful assembly alone is insufficient to establish criminal liability. He stated that the prosecution must prove each accused's individual acts with evidence. The court found that the prosecution failed to demonstrate that the accused committed the alleged offenses under various sections of the IPC, including those related to rioting, murder, and dacoity.
The judge observed that the prosecution's principal witness turned hostile during trial, and nothing emerged from his testimony despite extensive cross-examination. The court also rejected the prosecution's reliance on a police witness who could not identify the persons in the mob.
Additionally, the court noted that the Special Public Prosecutor conceded that no evidence was brought to prove the murder and dacoity offenses. The court observed there was no evidence of dacoity.
Details of the Case
The case relates to the murder of Mursaleen in the Gokul Puri area during the Northeast Delhi riots in February 2020. According to the prosecution, on February 28, 2020, information was received about a dead body near Gokal Puri. The body was sent to GTB Hospital, where an MLC was prepared, and a post-mortem was conducted on March 2, 2020. Mursaleen's wife, Nargis, lodged a missing report on March 1, 2020, and later identified the body as her husband.
The court's decision underscores the principle that criminal liability requires proof of individual acts, not merely association with an unlawful assembly. All accused were given the benefit of the doubt and acquitted of the main charges, while Thakur's conviction on the stolen property charge stands separately.