A Delhi court has convicted expelled AAP leader and former councillor Tahir Hussain for abetting rioting after finding that a mob used his building on Main Karawal Nagar Road as a vantage point to throw stones at people and nearby properties during the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots.
Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh convicted Hussain under Section 147 of the Indian Penal Code, relating to rioting, read with Section 109, which concerns abetment. The finding relates to an incident on February 24, 2020, when, according to the court, a mob gathered on the terrace of Hussain’s house between 2 pm and 3 pm.
The 53-page judgment held that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the height of the building was used to target passers-by and surrounding properties. The court relied on the testimonies of four public witnesses while reaching its conclusion.
Hussain was acquitted of several more serious charges in the case. These included rioting while armed with a deadly weapon under Section 148 of the IPC; theft from a residential house under Section 380; causing damage under Section 427; mischief by fire or explosive substances under Sections 435 and 436; and trespass to commit an offence punishable with life imprisonment under Section 450. These charges had also been read with Section 109.
The case concerns the use of a private building in a densely inhabited part of northeast Delhi during a period of communal violence. The court’s finding specifically focused on the alleged use of the structure’s terrace and height to facilitate stone-pelting, making the building itself part of the factual account presented during the trial.
The conviction is the second reported conviction of Hussain in a case connected to the riots. The source report said that on July 31, a Delhi court sentenced Hussain and four co-convicts to life imprisonment for the murder of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma.
The present judgment, however, concerns abetment to rioting in a case registered at Dayalpur police station. The court’s ruling distinguishes the charges it found proved from those on which it acquitted Hussain, with the conviction limited to rioting and abetment under the sections specified in the judgment.
The ruling adds to the continuing legal proceedings arising from the February 2020 violence in northeast Delhi. In this case, the court’s findings were based on witness testimony about events at a specific building on Main Karawal Nagar Road and on the prosecution’s account of how the premises was used during the incident.
