The Delhi High Court on Wednesday quashed an FIR filed against former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in connection with the violence that erupted in northeast Delhi in February 2020.
The court observed that there was a prior FIR related to the same incident and ruled that the chargesheet from the second FIR should be treated as supplementary to the first case.
Justice Subramonium Prasad, who delivered the ruling, explained that the incident in question, which took place on February 24, 2020, had already been covered by an FIR filed the following day, on February 25, 2020. The initial FIR was lodged based on a complaint from a police officer, while the second FIR, filed two days later, stemmed from a complaint by another individual and included similar charges of rioting and mischief.
Both FIRs were linked to the same sequence of events in a building where rioters first vandalized the ground floor, then moved to the first floor, where food was being prepared for a wedding. The rioters set fire to goods and caused significant property damage on the first floor.
The court ruled that these incidents were part of a larger, single event and should therefore be treated as one. Although both FIRs involved overlapping charges, the court acknowledged that separate trials were underway for each case, with different victims in each. Quashing the second FIR entirely could have left the victims without any legal recourse.
As a result, the court directed that the chargesheet from the second FIR be added as a supplementary chargesheet to the first FIR, ensuring that the trial could proceed without interruption. The court noted that common witnesses were involved in both FIRs and that merging the chargesheets would not prejudice any party.
In its judgment, the court emphasized that the mistake of filing two FIRs for the same event should not result in injustice for the victims in the first FIR, who would otherwise have been deprived of a remedy.
The northeast Delhi violence in February 2020 resulted in at least 53 deaths and left hundreds injured. Hussain, who has been facing multiple charges related to the violence, was represented in court by lawyer Tara Narula.
