Jagran Correspondent, New Delhi: Two convicts in the murder case of IB employee Ankit Sharma during the Delhi riots have challenged the trial court’s decision.
On Wednesday, a bench of Justice Pratibha M Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan issued notice to Delhi Police seeking its response on the appeal petition of two convicts.
Next Hearing Will Be Held On December 2
The court directed the filing of a reply and adjourned the hearing till December 2. The appellants, convicts Nazim and Qasim, have challenged the trial court’s July 31 verdict convicting them.
The trial court convicted the two men, as well as the main accused, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain. During the 2020 riots in Northeast Delhi, a mob attacked Ankit Sharma and dumped his body in a drain.
On July 31, the Karkardooma Court awarded life imprisonment to Tahir Hussain in the murder case. Along with Hussain, 4 others were also sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder.
Relying on scientific evidence, the court cited the FSL report, post-mortem report, evidence collected from the scene, electronic records, mobile phone CDRs, location information, and other digital material. The court also considered the testimony of doctors, forensic experts, investigating officers, and nodal officers of mobile companies to be credible.
During an earlier hearing, the defence questioned the credibility of witnesses, their identities, the delay in filing the FIR, the fairness of the investigation, and the electronic evidence. After considering all these arguments, the court held that the entire array of available evidence strengthens the prosecution’s case. The case is proved beyond reasonable doubt not by isolating any one witness or fact but by evaluating all the evidence as a whole.
According to the court, the prosecution presented a total of 91 witnesses, including eyewitnesses, police officers, doctors, forensic experts, investigating officers, nodal officers from mobile companies, and other official witnesses. Based on these witnesses and scientific evidence, the court convicted the five accused.