Ankit Sharma Murder Case: Delhi Court Reserves July 31 Order on Tahir Hussain's Sentence

A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order until July 31 on the quantum of sentence for former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and four others convicted in the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Delhi riots.

Hearing arguments from both sides, Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh reserved the matter after the Delhi Police sought the death penalty, describing the crime as falling within the " rarest of rare " category. Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey argued that Sharma was abducted, brutally assaulted, and murdered, with the post-mortem revealing 51 injuries, including 18 caused by sharp-edged weapons. He contended that the attack continued even after Sharma's death and urged the court to impose the maximum punishment, saying the murder must be viewed in the broader context of the 2020 Delhi riots, in which 53 people were killed.

Opposing the plea, Hussain's counsel argued that no specific individual role had been attributed to him and noted that six of the 11 accused were acquitted. The defence submitted that the death penalty should be reserved only for the rarest of rare cases, cited Hussain's good conduct in jail, the absence of evidence of criminal conspiracy under IPC Section 120B, and requested that the court consider his family circumstances and the possibility of reform.

The case stems from the communal violence that erupted in Northeast Delhi between February 24 and 26, 2020, during protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Ankit Sharma, a 26-year-old IB officer, went missing on February 25, and his body was recovered from a drain the next day near his residence in Chand Bagh.

On July 13, the court convicted Tahir Hussain and four others while acquitting six co-accused. The court held that Hussain was part of a heavily armed unlawful assembly involved in rioting, arson, looting, and Sharma's murder. He was convicted under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 365 (kidnapping), 147 and 148 (rioting), 153A (promoting enmity), 188 (disobedience of a public servant's order), read with Section 149, which makes every member of an unlawful assembly liable for offences committed in pursuit of its common object.

The court will pronounce the sentence on July 31.