Delhi high court rejects bail plea of Tahir Hussain in Ankit Sharma murder case

Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma’s body was found in a drain near his home after a riot broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020

The Delhi high court on Thursday denied bail to former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) municipal councillor Tahir Hussain in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

Tahir Hussain. (File Photo)

“The bail application is dismissed,” justice Neena Bansal Krishna said while pronouncing the verdict. A detailed copy of the verdict is awaited.

Hussain, who was suspended by the AAP for his alleged role in the riots and later joined the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), had approached the Delhi high court against a city court’s March 12 order rejecting his bail.

In its 10-page order, judge Pulastya Pramachala opined that the failure of three public witnesses to identify Hussain did not wash away or mellow down the evidence of other witnesses, including public witnesses.

Hussain’s petition in the high court had painted a picture that the trial court disregarded the aspect of eight co-accused being released on bail and failed to consider the account of eyewitnesses who have absolved him from the prosecution’s allegations.

It went on to add that he had already spent almost five years in jail and that the prosecution had examined all the public witnesses related to the murder case.

The Delhi Police represented by special public prosecutor Rajat Nair and advocate Dhruv Pande had submitted that Sharma’s murder was intended as a chilling act of defiance against the security forces. Nair submitted that the cops had evidence to show how Hussain, along with other accused, caught and dragged Ankit Sharma before stabbing him 51 times and dumping his body in a nearby drain, while he was trying to de-escalate the situation. Nair further contended that multiple eyewitnesses had identified Hussain at the scene, raising incendiary slogans and inciting the mob. He also contended that due to Hussain’s significant influence in his locality, granting him bail could lead to witness intimidation or interference with evidence.

Sharma’s body was found in a drain near his home in northeast Delhi’s Chand Bagh area on February 26, 2020, a day after he had gone missing after the riots broke out.

Following the probe, the police had charged Hussain under sections of murder, rioting, criminal conspiracy, dacoity, promoting religious enmity and the Arms Act. A charge sheet was filed in the case in June 2020. In March 2023, a city court framed charges against Hussain and 10 other people.