2020 Delhi riots: Court acquits three accused of rioting, arson

New Delhi, Feb 26 (PTI) A Delhi court has acquitted three people accused of rioting, arson and unlawful assembly during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, saying that the prosecution failed to prove their guilt in the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh was hearing a case against Sagar, Devender Gautam and Anmol who were accused of rioting, arson, dacoity and provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act for being part of a riotous mob during the Delhi riots.

In an order dated February 24, the court said, "I find that there is no evidence by which the court can arrive at a finding of guilt against the accused persons. The accused are accordingly found entitled to the benefit of doubt. All the accused are acquitted of all the charges framed against them." According to the prosecution, the three were part of a riotous mob involved in violence in Milan Garden and adjoining areas of Sonia Vihar in northeast Delhi during the communal violence on February 25, 2020.

A significant portion of the prosecution's case rested on CCTV footage allegedly collected from the Public Works Department (PWD). The footage was stored on a hard disk and later sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), which reported no signs of tampering.

The court noted that the evidence certificate filed by the prosecution was defective and allowing it to be filed again at this stage of the trial would violate Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act.

"The case of the prosecution against the accused solely rests upon the video footage. However, the court, as discussed above, cannot consider the video footage as evidence," the judge said.

An FIR was registered in Sonia Vihar police station against the three accused under IPC Sections 148 (Rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (Unlawful assembly), 188 (Disobedience to public servant's order), 427 (Mischief and Damage to property worth more than Rs 50), 435 (Mischief with fire), 436 (Destruction of house), 380 (Theft in dwelling) and 395 (Dacoity).

It then acquitted all three accused of all charges framed against them. PTI SKM SKM KSS KSS