New Delhi: A court here on Thursday acquitted a father-son duo from rioting, theft and arson charges, saying the statements of two police witnesses about identifying them several days after the incident, when they were in police custody, in a different rioting case appeared as "an abnormal development".
The court, which was hearing a case regarding the 2020 northeast Delhi communal riots, also said the statements were possibly given "with a pre-determined mindset".
Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing a case against Mitthan Singh and his son Jony, who were accused of being a part of a riotous mob that torched the houses of four complainants besides committing vandalism and theft in the Khajuri Khas area on February 25, 2020.
The court noted that all the public witnesses, including the four complainants, turned hostile and denied seeing the duo among the rioters.
It said that the case hinged upon the statements of two police personnel, beat constables Pradeep Kumar and Kalik Tomar, who after seeing both accused in the station lock-up on March 9, 2020, informed the investigating officer (IO) about having seen them as part of the riotous mob on February 25.
Kalik further deposed about seeing both accused for the first time in the lock-up after the riots, the court noted.
It, however, noted that during cross-examination, Kalik admitted to being a part of the team that arrested both accused on March 5 in another rioting case (FIR no. 121/20) in the same police station.
"Interestingly, the IO of this (present) case and FIR 121/20 were the same," the court said, adding, it was not possible that being in the IOs team, they were not aware of the FIR lodged in the present case.
It said that Kalik had "falsely claimed" that he had seen both the accused for the first time after the rioting incidents only on March 9.
Regarding Kumar's statement, the court said that he did not identify the father-son duo when they were arrested on March 5.
Also, FIR no. 121/20 was registered on Kumar's complaint, where he "did not whisper about seeing and identifying anyone among the rioters", it said.
In his subsequent witness statement, however, Kumar mentioned the names of both accused persons and he claimed that he knew both of them well before the riots, the court said, adding, "Still, he did not mention about identifying them during the incidents of riots as probed in this (present) case."
"In these circumstances, the statements for having identified both accused during incidents probed in this case, at a subsequent time i.e, on March 9, do appear as abnormal development. One cannot rule out that their such statements were given or prepared with a pre-determined mindset against both accused, who were already in police custody since March 5," the court said.
So, only based on the statements of the beat constables, it was not safe to presume the father-son duo's presence in the rioting incidents on February 25, the court said.
"I find both the accused persons entitled to the benefit of doubt in this case. Hence, both of them are hereby acquitted of all the charges levelled against them in this case," the judge said in the 26-page verdict.