A court here ordered rioting and arson charges against five people for allegedly setting fire to a mosque during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, saying their video identification could not be ruled illegal or inadmissible in evidence at this stage.
The next session of Justice Pulastya Pramachala heard the case against Ankit, Sourabh Sharma, Rohit, Rahul Kumar and Sachin, who were accused of being part of a riotous mob that set fire to the Allah Wali Masjid in Shahid Bhagat Singh Colony here in February 2020.
The judge says “Identification of the accused through video cannot be said to be illegal or inadmissible in evidence. The same would require an assessment based on the totality of the situation behind such identification and this exercise can be done only after trial”.
ASJ Pramachala also rejected the ground of dismissal for non-existence of Trial Identification Card (TIP) stating that TIP is a matter of precaution and an additional safeguard in case of prosecution and its absence cannot be used by the accused to plead for discharge.
Court said order passed on 31: “I find that the accused persons … (are) to be tried for offenses punishable under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 427 (punishment for committing a misdemeanor and thereby causing loss or damage to amounting from Rs.fifty or more), 435 (Damage by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to the sum of 100 rupees or more), 436 (Damage by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy a house, etc.) and 450 (entering a house with intent to commit of any offense punishable with imprisonment for life) of the Indian Penal Code”.
The judge also put all the accused on trial for the offenses of participating in an unlawful assembly and disobeying an order issued by a public official. “The usual objective of this mob is well apparent from the evidence, ie to destroy the mosque,” the judge said.
The judge noted that the witness’s statement that Rohit had incited others to set fire to the mosque and other houses had additionally put him on trial for the offense of incitement. According to evidence before the court, the accused persons were identified as part of a rowdy mob that vandalized and set fire to the mosque on February 24 and 25, 2020, the judge said. Riots in northeast Delhi left 53 dead and more than 700 injured.
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