Delhi HC seeks police reply on appeals by Ankit Sharma murder convicts

Nazim and Kasim, in their appeal, argued that no test identification parade was conducted and conviction was based on the testimony of the sole witness, which was not corroborated.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice in an appeal filed by two men against trial court’s order convicting and awarding them life imprisonment for the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) official Ankit Sharma during the Northeast Delhi riots in 2020.

Delhi Police’s counsel informed the court that the police were in the process of filing an appeal against the order, as the trial court had acquitted six accused.

A bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Vikas Mahajan sought Delhi police’s response in an appeal filed by Nazim and Kasim against trial court’s orders and application seeking suspension of their sentence.

Delhi Police’s counsel, Rajat Nair, informed the court that the police were in the process of filing an appeal against the order, as the trial court had acquitted six accused.

On July 13, the trial court convicted former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others for Sharma’s murder, holding that Hussain, along with an “armed” mob, carried out a “savage” and “relentless” attack.

On July 31, the trial court sentenced Hussain, along with four others, including Nazim and Kasim to life, ruling that while the crime was “horrendous” and “sickening”, the prosecution failed to prove that the convicts were beyond the possibility of reform.

The court rejected the police’s plea for capital punishment. The court observed that although the murder fell within the “rarest of the rare” category on account of its brutality, the prosecution had not established that the convicts’ continued existence in prison “would pose a menace to society”.

The court held, “The crime was brutal, with a murderous mob baying for blood of the victim… the manner and the utmost brutality with which the victim was killed was done solely on account of religion. He was sucked in by a murderous mob and strapped like an animal… and as if the hatred had still not been satiated, the dead body was thereafter thrown into the nala.”

Nazim and Kasim, in their appeal, argued that no test identification parade was conducted and conviction was based on the testimony of the sole witness, which was not corroborated.

The matter will be now heard on December 2.