New Delhi: Acquitting six men in a 2020 northeast Delhi riot case, a court on Monday criticised Delhi Police for trampling the rights of the accused and requested the commissioner of police to take remedial action.The court of additional sessions judge Parveen Singh observed, “It is apparent that merely in order to work out a case, a false case has been foisted upon the accused, and prosecution witness 10, head constable Vikas, the only eyewitness of the case, is completely unreliable regarding these accused persons. All the accused are entitled to be acquitted of all the charges.” The court was hearing the case against the six men, who were accused of being part of a riotous mob involved in arson on Feb 25, 2020, within the limits of New Usmanpur police station. Police had filed a chargesheet against Ishu Gupta, Prem Prakash, Raj Kumar, Manish Sharma, Rahul and Amit.The judge said there was an “egregious padding” of evidence by the investigating officer of the case, resulting in “serious trampling” of the rights of the accused. Calling this a “saddening” instance, the court noted that despite the glaring defects, the supervising officers, the station house officer and the assistant commissioner of police concerned, forwarded the chargesheet in a mechanical manner. He added that such instances would result in “serious erosion of the faith of the people in the investigating process” and the rule of law.The prosecution’s case, which was built on the basis of the disclosures of the accused, fell apart, the judge pointed out. “I deem it appropriate that the copy of this judgment be sent to the commissioner of police for his perusal, with a request to take remedial action,” he directed.
