Death sentence awarded in Batla encounter case by trial court commuted into life imprisonment by DHC
The death sentence awarded to the terrorist Ariz Khan in Batla encounter case has been converted into the life imprisonment.
According to the latest news, in the 2008 Batla encounter case, the killer of the Delhi Police special cell inspector Ariz Khan was accorded death sentence by the trial court earlier but the High Court’stwo Judge bench comprising of Justice Sidharth Mridul and Justice Amit Sharma has upheld the sentence and modified the death sentence into life imprisonment .
It may be recalled that the encounter had taken place on September 2008 between the Delhi Police special cell and the Indian Mujahideen terrorists in Jamia Nagar’s Batla House locality in which the Delhi police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma was killed having been posthumously awarded the highest peace time military award The Ashok Chakra on 29 January, 2009.
Acording to the Bench and Bar, the High Court after hearing the arguments from the counsel of Khan and Delhi police had reserved its judgement in the month of August.
While giving its judgement in the month of March 2021, the Court had categorised this case as the rarest of the rare and accorded death sentence to Ariz Khan.
Apart from the death sentence the Court had fined the convict Rs 11 lakhs out of which Rs 10 lakhs will go to the wife of the deceased as financial compensation ruled the judges. The convict had thereafter approached the Delhi High Court for relief.
Diring the Batla house encounter case while Inspector of Delhi Police’s special cell Mohan Chand Sharma was killed during the cross firing with the terrorists clandestinely firing from a house in Batla house locality in Jamia Nagar some policemen were also injured in this cross firing.
It may be recalled that on September, 13 2008 Delhi was rocked with blasts in five places viz. Palika Bazaar, Gaffar, Market, India Gate, etc. About thirty persons have succumbed to these bomb blasts and more than 100 injured.
The special cell of Delhi police got a tip off ( information) from some reliable sources about some Indian Mujahideen terrorists hiding in Batla house in Jamia Nagar.
The team of special cell of Delhi police under the leadership of Mohan Chand Sharma went to the said address to nab the culprits who sensed their arrival resulting in cross firing between the police and the terrorists , leading to a bullet hitting the inspector Mohan Chand Sharma n few policemen also being injured.
Two terrorists were also killed during these raids and encounter. The terrorists Ariz Khan alias, Junaid and, Sehzaid Ahmed alias Pappu had fled then but were nabbed later on and tried under the law with Ariz Khan getting death sentence by the trial court in 2021 in the month of March while High Court modifying the death sentence to life Imprisonment today.
