The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Delhi Police on an appeal filed by former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain, who is challenging his conviction and life imprisonment in the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma — a case rooted in the deadly 2020 North-East Delhi riots. The court has listed the matter for hearing on 2 December.

Court's Direction

A Division Bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan ordered that Hussain's appeal be heard alongside connected appeals filed by two other convicts in the case — Nazim and Kasim — who had earlier approached the High Court against their own conviction and sentence.

Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Rajat Nair, appearing for the Delhi Police, submitted that the prosecution preferred a consolidated hearing of all related appeals. The bench agreed, noting: 'All connected matters are coming on December 2. We will assess the roles separately. It will save judicial time if the appeals are heard together.'

The court formally ordered: 'Issue notice. Call for nominal roll. List along with connected appeals on December 02.'

The Trial Court Verdict

The Karkardooma Court had earlier convicted Hussain along with four others — Javed, Anas, Nazim, and Kasim — for the murder of Sharma and sentenced all five to life imprisonment. The trial court found them guilty under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 302 (murder), Section 365 (kidnapping), Section 153A (promoting enmity between groups on grounds of religion), and Sections 147, 148, and 149 (rioting-related offences).

However, all five were acquitted of the charge of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the IPC. Six other accused were also acquitted, with the trial court holding that the prosecution had failed to establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The Delhi Police has indicated it is in the process of challenging those acquittals.

The Sentencing and What the Judge Said

Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh, while pronouncing the sentence, described the crime as a 'very serious' incident, observing that Sharma was 'brutally murdered' and his body was left 'like an animal', adding that the incident had 'shaken the conscience of society.'

The Delhi Police had sought the death penalty for Hussain and the other convicts, characterising Sharma's killing as a 'cold-blooded' and 'brutal' murder and pointing to 51 injuries found on his body. The defence opposed capital punishment, arguing the case did not meet the threshold of the 'rarest of rare' doctrine required for a death sentence.

The Crime: What Happened to Ankit Sharma

The body of IB officer Ankit Sharma was recovered from a drain in the Khajuri Khas area on 26 February 2020, during the communal violence that engulfed North-East Delhi. According to the prosecution, Sharma was caught in clashes near his residence on 25 February 2020, when violence broke out between two groups near Chand Bagh Pulia.

He was allegedly abducted by a mob, assaulted, and stabbed multiple times before his body was thrown into a nearby drain. An FIR was registered at the Dayalpur police station on the complaint of his father, Ravinder Kumar, who stated that his son had stepped out to buy household items and did not return.

The 2020 North-East Delhi riots — among the worst communal violence in the capital in decades — claimed 53 lives, left several people injured, and caused extensive damage to property across the affected localities.

What Happens Next

With the High Court scheduling a consolidated hearing for 2 December, the bench will separately assess the individual roles of each convict while examining the appeals together. The Delhi Police's parallel challenge to the acquittal of the six other accused is also expected to be taken up in the same proceedings. The outcome of these appeals could have significant implications for the legal closure of one of the most high-profile cases to emerge from the 2020 Delhi riots.