2020 Delhi riots case: Tahir Hussain gets 2 years in jail for allowing mob to use his house to attack public | Today’s news

A Delhi court on Friday sentenced former AAP councilor Tahir Hussain to two years of rigorous imprisonment for inciting riots during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, saying he used his position as an elected representative to facilitate violence instead of maintaining peace and harmony.

Hussain was convicted on October 10 under IPC Section 147 (rioting) read with Section 109 (abiding).

In Friday’s verdict, Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh said “the aggravating circumstances substantially outweigh the mitigating circumstances urged on behalf of the convict. There was no mitigating circumstance of sufficient weight to warrant a lesser sentence”.

Special public prosecutor Madhukar Pandey sought the maximum sentence for Hussain, saying it was his second conviction in a riot-related case.

He said Hussain, an elected representative at the time, had a responsibility to keep the peace but instead facilitated the riots by allowing rioters to use his house to attack the public.

Taking cognizance of the submission, the court said Hussain was expected to act as a restraining influence on people in a communally charged environment.

“Instead of meeting that responsibility, the convict was found to have contributed to the riots by providing his house, which was the highest point in the locality, as a place from which rioters could attack people and damage property,” the judge said.

The court said Hussain’s position, which should have been used to prevent violence, was instead used to facilitate it, warranting a sentence that reflected the seriousness of the offense and served as a deterrent.

The court rejected the defense’s request for leniency, stating that Hussain’s absence of physical participation in the rioting crowd could not substantially reduce his culpability. “The mere fact that the prosecution has not proved the convict’s active participation in the disorder does not diminish the seriousness of his conduct, for the hand that leads is as guilty, if not more, than the hand that acts.”

The court also rejected Hussain’s claim that he was helpless when the mob allegedly forcibly occupied his house and that he made several phone calls to the police control room. He stated that he did not prove the alleged calls or present any other evidence to support his defense.

The judge further noted that Hussain had not filed any complaint against known or unknown persons who claimed to have forcibly occupied his house and used it to attack people during the riots.

The court stated that the aggravating circumstances substantially outweighed the mitigating circumstances presented by the defense and sentenced him to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of ₹10,000.

On 24 February 2020, Hussain was convicted of allowing a mob to use the terrace of his house on Main Karawal Nagar Road to throw stones at passers-by and nearby properties.

In its October 10 ruling, the court acquitted him of more serious charges, including disorderly conduct with a deadly weapon, theft, mischief and trespassing. He also acquitted nine other accused, saying the prosecution had failed to prove its case against them.

This is Hussain’s second conviction in connection with the February 2020 riots. On 31 July, a Delhi court sentenced him and four co-convicts to life imprisonment for the murder of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma.

Hussain was expelled from AAP in February 2020, hours after an FIR was registered against him in connection with the riots. He joined AIMIM in 2024 and contested the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections on a ticket but lost.

Riots in northeast Delhi in February 2020 left 53 dead and caused extensive damage to property.