The Delhi High Court on Thursday commuted to life term the death penalty awarded to Ariz Khan following his conviction in the Batla House encounter case of 2008, which claimed the life of Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, reports PTI.
A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Amit Sharma upheld a trial court order convicting Khan of the murder of the police official but refused to confirm the capital punishment.
The court had earlier reserved its order in August.
Inspector Sharma, belonging to the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, was killed in action on September 19, 2008, in south Delhi’s Jamia Nagar during the encounter, which took place six days after serial blasts ripped through the national capital killing at least 39 people and leaving more than 100 injured.
Acting on a tip-off, the police team, which included Sharma, had raided a flat in the Batla House locality.
In 2009, Ariz Khan, who had fled the encounter, was pronounced as a proclaimed offender (PO) and was arrested on February 14, 2018.
A trial court had convicted him on March 8, 2021 and awarded him capital punishment on March 14, 2021. The court also called him “an enemy of the state”, and also observed that the convict “has forfeited his right to live”.
Subsequently, the High Court received a reference for confirmation of Khan’s death sentence. When a trial court sentences any person to death, its judgement is examined by the high court through hearing arguments for a confirmation of the sentence.