A Delhi court has discharged five accused from the offence of setting ablaze a nursing home in a case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. The court, however, said they will face trial on the charge of rioting.
"I find that no clear-cut offence of Section 436 of the Indian Penal Code is made out against the accused persons. Accordingly, all of them are discharged for the offence," Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala said in an order passed on Tuesday, January 17.
Section 436 refers to mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy a house etc. Noting that the case did not attract section 436 of the IPC, which was the only offence triable by the sessions court, the judge transferred the matter back to the magisterial court concerned.
The court said there was no photograph of the nursing home to show it was torched by rioters and instead a burnt ambulance's photo was placed on record. It said the complainant and his two employees used "general language" to establish that a riotous mob burnt the nursing home during the riots on February 24, 2020.
"Had it been so, then the same could have been shown by way of placing photographs of this property as well, in the same manner as was done in respect of the burnt ambulance," the court said.
The Bhajanpura police station had registered an FIR against Abdul Sattar, Mohammed Khalid, Hunain, Tanveer Ali and Arif on the basis of the complainant's statement.