The case dealt with the riots in February 2020. Three people were accused of killing their accomplice Shahid when trying to instigate violence. The three accused, Junaid, Irshad and Chand Mohammed were in the Saptarishi Building at the Chand Bagh area of North East Delhi, when the incident took place. The police claimed that while they were shooting, they accidentally fired Shahid.
Arguments
The main argument put forth by the prosecution counsel Advocate Salim Malik put forward was that the evidence that the prosecution itself presented, an NDTV news clip did not show the three accused. The news clip clearly showed the faces of the rioters, however, the faces of the 3 accused were not visible.
NDTV News
The news report that the prosecution presented as a piece of evidence was an NDTV clip that covered the riot by journalist Ravish Kumar. The clip showed that gun firing was from Mohan Nursing Home building which was opposite the Saptarishi building. This was contrary to police claims.
Court Order
The Court stated in its order that
“It is pertinent to mention here that in the post-mortem report, the direction of the wound in which it has entered the body has been given to be from the left side which is going downwards and exiting from the right side. This means that the injury was from a height and at a distant range, thus, establishes the possibility that the bullet came from Mohan Nursing home or any building which is on the left side of the Saptarishi building and is at a height which is on the front and diagonally left to the Saptarishi building and is on more height than that of Saptarishi building.”
The single-judge bench comprising of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait on analysis of all the evidence presented to him concluded that the gunshot wound that was the cause of death, was not a close shot rather was fired from a distance, as the bullet had entered the body from the left and exited from the right.
The wound was devoid of any chemical residues such as Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide which would have been present in a close shot according to the forensic report. The Court also took cognisance of the NDTV news report by stating in the order that,
“In this video, the firing is seen to be done only from Mohan Nursing Home and not from the Saptarishi building.”
The Court also took into consideration human emotions, when it stated that
“It is hard to believe that a communal riot can be used by the petitioners to cause the death of the person of their own community.”
Taking all these factors into consideration the Court granted bail to the 3 accused, while also drawing attention to the fact the trail will take substantial time.
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