Delhi HC notice on Umar Khalid plea against dropping of attempt to murder charges vs men who shot at him

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Delhi Police and two persons accused of shooting at Delhi riots' accused Umar Khalid at the Constitution Club in New Delhi in 2018.

The notices were issued in a petition filed by Khalid in which he challenged a trial court order of December 6 which dropped the attempt to murder (Section 306 IPC) charges against accused persons Naveen Dalal and Darvesh.

A single-judge bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta while seeking responses by the Delhi Police and the accused persons, posted the matter for May 21 for further consideration.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Devender Kumar Jangala while discharging the men under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code reasoned that the material on record did not show that the accused had any definite intention to cause Khalids death, which is an essential ingredient for the offence of attempt to murder.

The said intention has to be gathered from the nature of the act and manner of its execution, however, in the present case, the judge said that it was an admitted fact that the accused has only pointed the gun towards the complainant/victim repeatedly but had not pulled the trigger or attempted to pull the trigger. No shot has been firedmerely pointing the pistol towards the complainant/victim would not have resulted in his death.

Therefore, stating that while exercising the powers under Section 227 Cr.PC, a Judge is not required to act merely as post office or the mouthpiece of prosecution but has to consider peculiarities of the case and the total effect of evidence, ASJ Jangala discharged the two men.

Khalid was represented through Sr. Adv. Trideep Pais, who pressed that the crime was pre-planned insofar as the accused had stalked him on Facebook, procured a gun and planned the entire incident.

Khalid, a complainant in the FIR, had alleged that he reached the Constitution Club to attend an event titled Khauff Se Azaadi organised by an outfit named United Against Hate on August 13, 2018. 

The ASJs order notes that Khalid had alleged that when he started moving towards the Club, two unidentified persons approached the complainant/victim (Khalid) and one of them hit the complainant/victim on his neck and pinned him down.

An FIR was filed against the two accused under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 201 (destroying evidence) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC and Section 25/27 of the Arms Act.