Delhi’s Karkardooma court has discharged 11 men accused of rioting, burning down shops and vehicles in the Dayalpur area of northeast Delhi during the riots in February 2020 due to a lack of evidence, ANI reported.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Pulastya Pramachala discharged the 11 accused persons, namely Ajmat Ali, Shadab Alam, Naved, Mohd Shahid, Mohd Sakir, Nadeem, Mohd Sohail alias Soel, Sultan Ahmed, Wazid, Suleman, and Mohd Faeem. Notably, the accused were charged with criminal conspiracy.
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The court observed that there is no reference to any specific evidence showing the existence of a criminal conspiracy among the accused persons. Based on the evidence placed on the record, the element of prior agreement among the accused persons and others cannot be inferred, it said.
“Therefore, I do not find a case being made out for the existence of a criminal conspiracy from the record,” ASJ Pramachala held in the order passed on Monday.
“In fact, there is no specific evidence in respect of finding the culprit behind the incident related to other complaints, which were clubbed for investigation in this case and which are being prosecuted in the same chargesheet,” the court added.
The court highlighted that the video evidence, pivotal in the prosecution’s case against Suleman and Mohd Faeem, failed to establish a connection with the alleged incidents.
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ASJ Pramachala held that, given the police had registered separate cases for riotous incidents, a general piece of evidence demonstrating presence in the mob at a different place and time cannot suffice to prosecute and charge an accused for a specific incident.
As per the chargesheet, on the night of February 23, 2020, a PCR call reached Police Station (PS) Dayalpur reporting an incident at Punjab Chicken, Chandu Nagar, Dayalpur, near Sherpur Chowk. The caller informed that “KUCH LOG DUKAAN PAR AAYE OR JHAGDA KAR RHE HAI (Some people came to the shop and started fighting.”
Upon arrival, the police discovered a clash involving two communities expressing opposing views on the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). The SHO was promptly informed, and upon arrival with force, he declared the mob illegal, urging them to disperse through a loudhailer. However, the mob remained defiant.
Subsequently, both groups engaged in stone-pelting, resulting in the destruction of parked vehicles, shattered windowpanes, and the setting ablaze of ‘Punjab Chicken’ in Chandu Nagar, according to police reports.
Following an investigation, the Delhi Police filed a chargesheet on April 27, 2020, against 10 accused individuals, citing offenses under sections 147/148/149/427/435/436/120-B IPC and 3 PDPP Act.
A first supplementary chargesheet against accused Mohd Faeem, accompanied by the FSL report and other documents, was filed on September 16, 2020. On December 18, 2020, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) acknowledged offenses under sections 147/148/149/427/435/436/120-B IPC and 3/4 PDPP Act.
In a significant turn of events on December 14, 2023, a third supplementary chargesheet was presented before the session court. This new stance aimed to prosecute the case based on nine complaints lodged by complainants Ashok Kumar, Satish Kumar, Rahul Kumar, Vijay Pal, Smt. Vandana, Mohd Nasim, Nawab Singh, Subhash Chand, and Mumtaz.