New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday sentenced former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain and four co-accused to life imprisonment for the murder of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Delhi communal riots. Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh pronounced the order following detailed arguments on the quantum of sentence, stating that while the offense was grave, the prosecution had not conclusively established that the convicts were beyond the scope of reformation. The court order was delivered under heavy security cover inside a packed courtroom attended by legal counsel and senior Delhi Police Crime Branch officials.
The sentencing marks a critical legal development in the trials stemming from the February 2020 violence in Northeast Delhi. During previous hearings, the prosecution had strongly advocated for the death penalty, describing the fatal assault on Sharma as an act of extreme brutality carried out by an armed mob. Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey argued against leniency, emphasizing that the victim was subjected to relentless violence and abandoned in a drain without medical assistance.
The court had formally convicted Hussain and his co-accused on July 13, establishing that the former councillor was part of an unlawful assembly that mobilized with deadly weapons during the riots. The bench noted that the prosecution successfully proved the mob operated with the clear knowledge that their violent actions could result in death. Charges upheld against Hussain include murder, kidnapping, rioting with deadly weapons, promoting enmity between religious groups, and disobeying public orders under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
