Delhi riots: '6 members of rioting mob cannot be charged with murder'…
Delhi riots: '6 members of rioting mob cannot be charged with murder'…
A court here has made an important comment regarding the riots in Delhi. The court said that six people accused of killing a fellow rioter during the 2020 communal violence in the capital do not deserve murder charges. The court said that instead the accused can be tried for the crimes of rioting, theft, breaking into the house and criminal intimidation.
Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing the case against the accused Mohammad Feroz, Chand Mohammad, Rais Khan, Mohammad Junaid, Irshad and Aqeel Ahmed. A case was registered against all of them at Dayalpur police station. In its order dated february 13, the court said, "The case presented by the prosecution shows that shahid died of the gunshot wounds he allegedly sustained while he was standing with fellow rioters on the roof of Saptarishi Building (Saptarishi Steel and Alloy Pvt Ltd in Chand Bagh)."
The court said that according to the prosecution, fellow rioters had fired bullets, one of which hit Shahid. The court said that however, as per the chargesheet, none of the accused were found to have fired the shots, yet they were held responsible for the offence of murder under Section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the indian Penal Code (IPC).
In the chargesheet, they were indirectly held responsible for Shahid's death under this section. According to the supreme court, every member of an unlawful assembly will be held liable for the offence committed by any member of that mob if it is proved that the offence was committed with a common intention.
The court further said, "Thus, there are two main angles involved. The first question is whether Section 149 of the BNS will be applicable in such a case? The second question is whether it was a case of gunshot from a short distance?" The court said that as per the facts of the case, two rival mobs were pelting stones and firing bullets at each other. The judge said, "Thus, the alleged stone pelting or firing was only against the rival mob. In that case, it cannot be a case that shahid was shot in pursuance of the common intention of the alleged unlawful mob."
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