New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) A court here has acquitted nine accused people of all charges, including rioting, vandalism, and arson, during the 2020 Delhi riots, saying they were entitled to the benefit of the doubt.
Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing a case against the accused, who were accused of being a part of a riotous mob that torched a godown and some vehicles in Shiv Vihar here during the communal riots on February 25.
Noting the evidence before it, the court said the incident of vandalism and arson at the godown was established.
The court underlined that the prosecution’s case hinged on the testimonies of two police officials, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), and a head constable (HC).
It said the ASI mentioned the names of the accused, on the plea that he had known them since before the alleged incident. But later the police official said that he only knew the names of three accused people.
“Forgetting a fact is much different from wrongly asserting a fact. Without having knowledge of a fact, one cannot assert it, and on the other hand, despite having knowledge of a fact, one can forget it and may come up with a wrong description of such a fact,” the court said.
This story was originally published in theprint.in. Read the full story here .