A Muslim man charged in a 2020 northeast Delhi riots case was acquitted by a district court in the city.
In the courtroom: The ruling was made by Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Shirish Aggarwal of Karkardooma Courts, according to a LiveLaw report on Saturday, 10 June.
The defendant, Noor Mohammad, had been charged with rioting and unlawful assembly punishable under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the report said.
The court also criticised the Delhi Police over the eyewitness testimony of a head constable.
“It is hard to fathom that a police officer who is courageous enough to make efforts for stopping the mob just stood there as a mute spectator when the rioting and plundering was taking place...No explanation has been given by the said witness who is a police officer for standing by and just watching and waiting...He did not even deem it fit to make a video of the offence being committed, even though he was at a relatively safe distance," the court reportedly said.