On October 19, a Delhi Court discharged the former AamAadmi Party (AAP) Councillor Tahir Hussain and nine others, namely Mohd. Shadab, Shah Alam, Riyasat Ali, Gulfam, Rashid, Mohd. Rihan, Mohd. Abid, Arshad Qayyum and Irshad Ahmed, from the charge of ‘causing mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy a building’, in a case of 2020 North-East Delhi riots. This comes after the Karkardooma Court, on October 13, ordered for the framing of riot and murder charges against former AAP leader Tahir Hussain and others.

Tahir Hussain has been behind bars since March 2020 in the North-East Delhi riots case. According to the court, Hussain and the other five defendants, Tanvir Malik, Gulfam, Nazim, Kasim, and Shah Alam, were the key masterminds behind the riots that aimed to targeting Hindus. They are alleged to have engaged in such behavior that appeared to undermine relations between Muslims and Hindus.

Tahir Hussain has been behind bars since March 2020 in the North-East Delhi riots case. According to the court, Hussain and the other five defendants, Tanvir Malik, Gulfam, Nazim, Kasim, and Shah Alam, were the key masterminds behind the riots that aimed to targeting Hindus. They are alleged to have engaged in such behavior that appeared to undermine relations between Muslims and Hindus.

Framing of Charges:

While hearing the complaint made by Ajay Jha and framing thecharges in the case, Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachalya ruled that charges should be filed against the Hussain and the five others (mentioned above). In his complaint, Ajay Jha had claimed that a crowd fired at him on February 25, 2020, near Chand Bagh.

“I find all accused persons liable to be tried for offences punishable under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 153A (promoting enmity between classes), and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code,” the judge said in an order dated October 13, as reported by the Outlook.

The judge also directed that charges be filed against each and every defendant under Sections 149 (every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of offense committed in furtherance of common goal) and Section 307 of the IPC (attempt to kill) of the IPC.

“They are also found liable to be tried for offences punishable under Sections 147, 148, 307 read with 120B and 149 of the IPC… and offences punishable under Section 153A read with 120B and 149 of the IPC,” the judge observed, as reported by the Outlook.

Madhukar Pandey, the special public prosecutor in this case, emphasised that the substantive offence was framed for the charge of attempt to murder. He further added that as the conspiracy was to murder, charges for the offence of criminal conspiracy read with murder and others were framed. According to the court, Gulfam and Tanveer were also facing charges under the Arms Act.

As reported by the Outlook, the court said, “From the statements of various witnesses, it was reflected that all accused were part of the mob that continuously indulged in the firing of gunshots, pelting of stones, and petrol bombs towards Hindus and houses of Hindus. These acts of the mob make it clear that their objective was to harm Hindus in their body and property to the maximum possible extent.”

The court also highlighted that the testimony of the witnesses demonstrated that the crowd shot indiscriminately and deliberately, injuring numerous individuals, including the complainant. It was further determined that a test identification parade (TIP) was not necessary in this case since the witnesses knew the defendants, and that deficiencies like the lack of video and the failure to find the real weapon did not render the prosecution’s case incredulous.

This story was originally published in newsclick.in . Read the full story here