Delhi Riots: Court Acquits 7 Of Murder, Convicts Them For Disobeying Prohibitory Order

A Delhi Court has acquitted seven men forming part of a mob of Hindu community in the murder case of one Babbu, an auto driver during the 2020 North-East Delhi riots, while convicting them for disobeying a prohibitory order under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh of Karkardooma Courts held that the Delhi Police had failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the seven accused had participated in the fatal assault on Babbu, who died on February 27, 2020, after sustaining injuries during the riots at Khajuri Chowk.

The court convicted Kuldeep Singh, Harjeet Singh alias Happy, Rahul alias Ajay, Sachin Rastogi, Bharat Bhushan alias Lucky, Sandeep alias Sanjeev and Dharmender alias Dham under Section 188 of IPC for violating the prohibitory order imposed under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The development ensued in the case registered at Khajuri Khas Police Station under Sections 147, 148, 149, 188, 302, 153A, 505, 120B and 34 of IPC.

Murder charges were framed against them in March last year. While doing so, the Court had discharged 11 men forming part of a mob of Muslim community.

In its final order, the Court observed that the prosecution's case concerning the fatal assault primarily rested on the testimony of a police personnel who claimed to have witnessed a group of persons beating a man with sticks after returning to Khajuri Chowk from the hospital.

However, the court found discrepancies in the witnesses' accounts regarding the timing of the incident and the circumstances in which the deceased was allegedly assaulted.

It noted that the testimony of the ASI, the sole witness who claimed to have seen the deceased being beaten, required corroboration in view of the inconsistencies in the evidence.

The judge also found that the video relied upon by the Delhi Police was of such poor quality that the identity of the person shown in it could not be established.

The Court consequently held that the witness's identification of accused Rahul alias Ajay from the footage was not trustworthy.

Further, the judge noted that the prosecution had not established through the evidence on record that the person seen being beaten in the video was Babbu.

In these circumstances, the court held that the evidence was insufficient to prove the murder charge against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

The court also acquitted the seven accused of the charge under Section 148 read with Section 149 of IPC, observing that there was no evidence establishing that any of them was armed with a deadly weapon or any weapon whatsoever.

On the charge under Section 153A of IPC, the judge found no evidence of any specific act attributable to the accused, individually or collectively, that fulfilled the requirements of the offence.

The Court observed that the prosecution failed to establish that the accused were part of the mob responsible for the fatal assault on the deceased.

While acquitting the accused of the serious charges, the Court found that the prosecution established that they were present at Khajuri Chowk on February 25, 2020, in violation of a prohibitory order issued under Section 144 of CrPC.

The court accordingly convicted the seven accused under Section 188 of IPC.

Sachin Gupta alias Mopi, another accused who faced trial, was given the benefit of doubt and acquitted of all charges.

The case arose from an incident on February 25, 2020, when Babbu, an auto driver, sustained injuries amid the violence at Khajuri Chowk. He died during treatment at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital on February 27, 2020.