High Court Reserves Order On Death Penalty To Batla House Encounter Convict

The Delhi High Court Friday reserved its verdict on confirmation of death penalty awarded to Ariz Khan following his conviction in the sensational 2008 Batla House encounter case in which decorated Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma lost his life.

"Arguments have been heard. Judgement reserved," said a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Amit Sharma after the lawyers for the convict and the State concluded their submissions.

Advocate M S Khan argued that there was nothing to suggest that Ariz Khan can't be reformed.

"If there is a probability, not possibility, that the convict can be reformed, life sentence is the rule. There is a probability of transformation and reformation," he submitted.

Special Public Prosecutor Rajesh Mahajan, representing the government of NCT of Delhi, said killing a uniformed police officer was a "rarest of rare" case which justified the death sentence.

He also placed before the court Ariz Khan's social investigation report and psychological analysis report, and submitted he has "adequate intellectual and cognitive functioning" and his conduct in jail was "unsatisfactory".

Inspector Sharma of the Delhi police's special cell was killed during the encounter between the police and terrorists in Jamia Nagar in south Delhi on September 19, 2008. Two terrorists were also killed in the encounter which took place days after five synchronised bomb explosions rocked the national capital, killing 39 people and wounding 159. Sharma had raided the place while looking for the terrorists responsible for the blasts.

The trial court had on March 8, 2021, convicted Ariz Khan, saying it was duly proved that he and his associates murdered the police official and fired gunshots at him.

On March 15, 2021, it had awarded Khan the capital punishment and also imposed a fine of Rs 11 lakh on him, making it clear that Rs 10 lakh should be immediately released to the family members of Sharma.

Subsequently, the high court received a reference for confirmation of the death sentence awarded by the trial court to Khan.

When a trial court sentences a person to death, its judgement is examined by the high court where arguments are heard for confirmation of the death sentence.

The case documents and trial court judgement reach as death reference to the high court from the trial court.

Ariz Khan, represented by advocate Quasar Khan, also filed an appeal against the trial court verdict which said the offence fell under the "rarest of the rare category" warranting the maximum sentence and he be "hanged by neck" till death.

Besides awarding the death penalty to Ariz Khan, the trial court had also sentenced Indian Mujahideen terrorist Shahzad Ahmed to life imprisonment in the case.

Both convicts had challenged their conviction and sentence in the case.

Shahzad, however, died in jail during the pendency of the appeals and the proceedings against him were abated.

In its judgement, the trial court had termed the act of Ariz Khan of firing on a police team without any provocation as "abhorrent and brutal" and said this itself showed that he was not only a threat to society but also an enemy of the State.

The trial court, which had said the convict on account of his despicable act has forfeited his right to live, held that the offence proved against Ariz Khan was not an ordinary act but a crime against the State, and while committing the offence, he acted like a "dreaded and well-trained terrorist" who does not deserve any leniency.

Ariz Khan had fled from the spot of the offence and was declared a proclaimed offender. He was arrested on February 14, 2018, and faced trial.

The trial court had said it has been proved on record that Ariz Khan, after the shootout, managed to escape and run away from the spot and eluded investigating agencies for almost 10 years despite a coercive process against him.

"Involvement of convict in various blast cases not only in Delhi but also in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and UP, in which hundreds of innocent people were killed and injured, further demonstrates that the convict continues to be a threat to the society and the nation," it had added.

The trial court had said deadly weapons like AK-47 and two pistols were retrieved from the flat where the shootout took place and, considering the nature of devastation that these weapons can cause, it would be safe to conclude that these weapons were kept to indulge in terrorist and anti-social activities.

He was further sentenced to life imprisonment for the offence of an attempt to murder.

The trial court also sentenced him to three years imprisonment for voluntarily obstructing police from discharging their duty, 10 years rigorous imprisonment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt to police officials, rigorous imprisonment for two years for assault on a public servant, and three years imprisonment for the offence under section 27 (using arms) of the Arms Act.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)