Delhi Court frames charges against six in 2020 Khajuri Khas riot case

Three additional complaints from Gulzar, Vikas Sharma, and Mohd Irshad were later merged into the same FIR. All four complainants alleged that a riotous mob engaged in looting, mischief by fire, and destruction of property, among other criminal acts.

After a thorough investigation, the authorities filed a charge sheet on March 22, 2022, accompanied by a complaint under section 195 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.) and other relevant documents, outlining various charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Subsequent to the initial charge sheet, on February 8, 2023, a supplementary charge sheet was directly filed before the court, which included a certificate under section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act (I.E. Act) and other pertinent documents.

Additionally, on July 17, 2023, a second supplementary charge sheet was submitted to the court, which included an additional statement from Ct. Vipin Tomar.

During the proceedings, the prosecution, represented by Special Public Prosecutor Nitin Rai Sharma, presented substantial evidence in support of the framing of charges against the accused individuals.

However, the defense counsels for Rajendar Jha, Rajesh Jha, Govind Singh, Peetamber Jha, and Devender raised objections. They contended that the site plan presented as evidence indicated two distinct locations of the incident and questioned the authenticity of a video mentioned in the prosecution witness Satish Chand Sharma's statement.

Furthermore, they argued that the complainant, Alka Gupta, did not identify any individuals in the video or provide specific details about the weapons allegedly held by the accused.

The defense further asserted that the identification statements were belated and lacked specific descriptions of the accused individuals' actions. They emphasised that the evidence against the accused was insufficient to support the charges brought against them.

The court, however, after careful consideration of the presented facts, found reasonable grounds to charge the accused individuals under Sections 148/379/427/435/436/453 read with Section 149 of the IPC for their alleged involvement in the riotous acts and property damage during the February 2020 Delhi riots. The order was issued on July 31.