Court acquits man of all charges in north-east Delhi riots case

Difficult to accept prosecution’s version with regards to identification of the accused as a rioter, says court

Noting that there was “no cogent and reliable evidence” on record to hold the accused guilty, a Delhi court on Wednesday acquitted a man of all charges in a north-east Delhi riots case.

Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat in his order noted that after keeping in mind the nature of testimonies of the witnesses examined by the prosecution, “the court finds it difficult to accept the prosecution’s version with regards to the identification of the accused as a rioter”.

The court acquitted Noor Mohammad alias Noora of all charges, including those pertaining to rioting and vandalism.

According to case records, Noora was accused of being a member of an unlawful assembly, which vandalised and looted a shop on February 25, 2020 during the riots in north-east Delhi.

Commenting on one of the seven prosecution witnesses, the beat officer of the area, the court said that the manner in which the officer identified Noora as a rioter when he was being interrogated by the Investigating Officer appeared to be “absolutely doubtful and devoid of trustworthiness”.