Delhi High Court seeks police response to Tahir Hussain’s appeal against life term

The Delhi High Court has issued notice to Delhi Police on former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain’s appeal against his conviction and life sentence for the murder of Intelligence Bureau official Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Delhi riots.

Justices Prathiba M Singh and Vikas Mahajan asked the police to respond and listed the matter for December 2. The court will also hear appeals that day from two other convicts, Nazim and Kasim.

On July 13, a trial court convicted Hussain and four others in Sharma’s murder case, while acquitting six others. On July 31, it sentenced Hussain, Nazim, Kasim and two others to life imprisonment. The court rejected Delhi Police’s request for the death penalty, saying the prosecution had not established that the convicts could not be reformed or that their continued incarceration would pose a menace to society.

In his appeal, filed through advocate Rajiv Mohan, Hussain challenged both the conviction and sentence. He alleged that the investigation was tainted, the FIR was improperly dated and timed, and witnesses were planted or manipulated. These claims are now part of the appeal before the High Court; Delhi Police has been asked to file its response.