According to the police, the nine accused were allegedly part of the unlawful assembly and caused damages, looted property worth crores of rupees, burnt a large number of houses, shops, schools and vehicles on February 25, 2020.
A Delhi court framed the charges riots and arson against the nine accused in the February 2020 riots case, saying it would be a “miscarriage of justice” by the prosecution to dismiss the case simply because the statements of public witnesses were recorded after delays.
Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat said the delay in recording the statements of witnesses by the police was not intentional or controversial and was due to the situation prevailing in the northeast region of Delhi during and after the alleged riots.
According to the police, the nine accused were allegedly part of the unlawful assembly and caused damages, looted property worth crores of rupees, burnt a large number of houses, shops, schools and vehicles on February 25, 2020. It was based on the statements of four public witnesses.
The judge objected to the submission made by the defense counsel that the public witnesses were not credible and their statements were recorded a month after the date of the alleged incident.
The judge said that even after these riots there was an atmosphere of panic and shock for several days and the public witnesses were scared and reluctant to present their version of the incident before the investigating agency.
“Considering these circumstances, it would be a miscarriage of justice to disbelieve the statements of these witnesses at this stage and dismiss the prosecution case merely on the ground that their statements were recorded approximately one month after the incident,” ASJ he said. Bhat said in an order dated October 11.
He said, “In the opinion of this court, the delay in recording the statements of the witnesses does not appear to be intentional or inconsistent. It appears to have happened because of the prevailing situation in the area during and after the incident of riots and, therefore, only The accused in this case cannot claim to be acquitted in this case.” During the hearing, the Delhi Police apprised the court that the nine accused created disharmony in the society by intimidating and terrorizing the public at large and their action was not only anti-national but also a challenge to the rule of law in Delhi.
However, the defense lawyers submitted that the CCTV video footage which is part of the charge sheet in the case pertains to the date of February 24, while the incident took place on February 25, 2020.
The lawyers pointed out that there is no CCTV video footage on record which pertains to the date of February 25, a fact which is not disputed by the Senior Public Prosecutor as per the order of the court.
However, the prosecutor said they do not rely on CCTV video footage and that their case is based on other evidence on record, including ocular versions of witnesses.
After considering the entire material on record, the judge observed that it is prima facie clear that sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 380 (theft), 427 (mischief) ), 436 (arson), 452 (house-trespass) of the Indian Penal Code are all liable to be framed against the accused.
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