Batla House encounter: Convict Ariz Khan challenges death penalty in Delhi high court

On March 8 this year, Khan, 35, was found guilty of killing inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, and sentenced to death on March 15.

Ariz Khan, who earlier this year, was convicted by a trial court over the killing of inspector Mohan Chand Sharma during the 2008 Batla House encounter, has challenged his conviction in the Delhi high court, as well as the death sentence handed to him for Sharma's killing.

Khan's plea challenging the trial court's verdict, which found his offence to be under the "rarest of rare" category, thus warranting the maximum sentence of capital punishment, was filed in the high court through advocates MS Khan and Qausar Khan.

Inspector Sharma, belonging to the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, was killed in action on September 19, 2008, in south Delhi's Jamia Nagar during the encounter, which took place six days after serial blasts ripped through the national capital killing at least 30 people and leaving more than 100 injured. Acting on a tip-off, the police team, which included Sharma, had raided a flat in the Batla House locality.

Khan, 35, who fled after the encounter, was pronounced as a proclaimed offender (PO) in 2009, and was arrested on February 14, 2018. He was convicted by the trial court on March 8 this year and sentenced to death on March 15. Additionally, the court imposed a fine of ₹11 lakh on Khan, directing him to "immediately" release ₹10 lakh for the deceased officer's family. Calling his offence "despicable," the court observed that the convict "has forfeited his right to live." It also called him an "enemy of the state."

Shahzad Ahmed, another convict in this case, was arrested on January 1, 2010. In July 2013, Ahmed was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment and appealed against the verdict in the high court. The appeal, however, is still pending in the court.

(With PTI inputs)