Tahir Hussain Moves Delhi High Court Against Life Sentence in Ankit Sharma Murder Case
Former MCD councillor Tahir Hussain has approached the Delhi High Court challenging his conviction and life sentence in connection with the 2020 murder of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma in the Dayalpur area during the North East Delhi riots.
The appeal follows the July 31 sentencing by a Karkardooma court, which handed life imprisonment to Hussain and four co-convicts: Nazim, Kasim, Javed, and Anas. The trial court had previously convicted all five accused on July 13. Hussain's petition before the High Court is likely to be listed for hearing next week.
Ankit Sharma was killed during the communal violence in northeast Delhi in 2020, after which his mutilated body was recovered from a drain. Alongside the murder conviction, the trial court sentenced all five individuals to seven years' imprisonment for kidnapping, in addition to convicting them for rioting and unlawful assembly.
The trial court also imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Hussain and Rs 25,000 each on the four other convicts. Following the announcement of the sentence, Hussain stated while leaving the courtroom that he was dissatisfied with the verdict and would challenge it before the High Court.
During the sentencing hearings, Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey had pressed for the death penalty, arguing that the crime was heinous, deliberate, and fell within the "rarest of rare" category. The prosecution submitted that Sharma suffered 51 injuries, seven of which were sufficient to cause death, and argued that the murder was carried out with extreme brutality using a heavy cutting weapon.
Opposing the capital punishment plea, defence counsel Rajiv Mohan argued that Hussain had been convicted under vicarious liability linked to unlawful assembly and contended that no conspiracy had been established during the trial. The defence maintained that liability could not be placed solely on Hussain based on his presence at the scene and highlighted his conduct during incarceration. Defence counsel Tara Narula also presented details regarding Hussain's family responsibilities and financial situation, while counsel Abdul Gaffar Khan represented convicts Kasim and Nazim during the proceedings.
