New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday sentenced former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others to life imprisonment for the murder of Intelligence Bureau official Ankit Sharma during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. The sentence was pronounced by additional sessions judge Parveen Singh of the Karkardooma court, rejecting the prosecution’s demand for the death penalty.
The judge said the crime was undoubtedly brutal, but the prosecution had failed to show that the convicts were beyond reform or would remain a danger to society after imprisonment. The court held that the case did not meet the legal threshold required for capital punishment.
Along with Hussain, the court sentenced Haseen alias Mullaji alias Salman, Nazim, Kasim and Sameer Khan to life terms. Six other accused had earlier been acquitted of all charges.
What prosecution and defence argued
Special public prosecutor Madhukar Pandey had sought the death penalty, calling the killing “exceptionally brutal” and arguing it fell within the rarest of rare category. He told the court Sharma suffered 51 injuries, 18 of them from sharp-edged weapons, and that the assault continued even after Sharma had died.
Pandey argued that Hussain, as an elected councillor, had a duty to protect citizens rather than participate in the violence. “Those who seek mercy should also show mercy,” he submitted, adding that no evidence showed anyone had tried to take Sharma to hospital.
The defence counsel, Rajiv Mohan, appearing for Hussain, argued that death sentences cannot be awarded in every murder case and that mitigating circumstances must be considered. He said no witness had directly attributed a role to Hussain and that the prosecution had failed to establish any criminal conspiracy.
Sharma, 26, an Intelligence Bureau security assistant living in Khajuri Khas, left home on February 25, 2020 to buy household essentials as violence spread through the Chand Bagh area. According to the prosecution, he tried to pacify clashing groups before being surrounded by a mob of about 20 to 25 people, assaulted and stabbed multiple times.
His body was dragged near Hussain’s residence and dumped in a nearby drain, and was recovered the next day. An FIR was registered on February 26, 2020, on a complaint by Sharma’s father, Ravinder Kumar, and the case was investigated by a special investigation team.
Earlier this month, the court had convicted Hussain and four others, holding that he was part of an unlawful assembly that had gathered with animus against Hindus, with the common object of rioting, arson, looting and damaging property belonging to Hindus. Hussain was convicted under Sections 302, 147, 148, 149, 153A, 188 and 365 of the Indian Penal Code, while he was acquitted of criminal conspiracy charges under Section 120B and of charges under Section 129.
The prosecution had alleged that Hussain’s multi-storey building was used as a base during the riots, with stones, petrol bombs, acid packets and slingshots allegedly thrown from its rooftop between February 24 and 26, 2020. Searches of the premises reportedly recovered similar material.
Ankit Sharma’s brother, Ankur Sharma, said the attackers had verified Sharma’s identity as a Hindu and an intelligence officer before killing him. The Intelligence Bureau later confirmed that Sharma had been on duty at the time.
The verdict is being described as the first murder conviction to emerge from the 2020 Delhi riots, which killed 53 people, making it one of the most significant legal outcomes from the unrest so far.