NEW DELHI: In a 2020 Delhi riots case, a court Delhi has acquitted a man of all charges, including arson, vandalism, and looting.
The court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that a riotous mob was responsible for the incident, and the accused was a part of it.
The case in question involved Sandeep Kumar, who was accused of being part of an unlawful assembly that looted a house and set fire to household items and a two-wheeler in the Shiv Vihar locality in Karwal Nagar on February 25, 2020.
The judgment, dated October 27, by Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala, noted that while the prosecution had demonstrated the incident of vandalism, looting, and arson, it could not prove the presence of a mob responsible for these acts or the accused's involvement in such a mob beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court pointed out discrepancies in the testimonies of two police eyewitnesses, which raised doubts about their presence in the area during the rioting incident. As a result, the formation of an unlawful assembly and mob responsibility for the incident were not convincingly proven.
Regarding the identification of the accused, the court highlighted that if the presence of the police officials was in doubt, their identification of the accused could not be relied upon. Additionally, one police official provided his statement identifying Kumar on February 29, while the other stated that he had seen the accused only on August 1, 2020. The court considered this inconsistency as further evidence of their unreliability.
In conclusion, the court acquitted the accused due to the lack of reliable evidence and uncertainty surrounding the identification of the accused by the police witnesses.
(With agency inputs)
