A Delhi court on Tuesday discharged two accused in a case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots in which they were accused of having set ablaze a building.
The court, however, said they will face trial for rioting.
The court was hearing a case registered against Johny and Sunny, who was charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including sections 147 (rioting) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy a house, etc).
Noting that the case did not attract Section 436 of the IPC, which was the only offence triable by the sessions court, Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala transferred the matter back to the magisterial court concerned.
"The description of this place or godown does not fulfil the criteria of Section 436 of the IPC i.e. being a building and therefore, I find that a case of offence under Section 436 is not made out from the alleged facts and materials placed on the record. Hence, both the accused persons are discharged for offence punishable under section 436,” the judge said.
"Except for Section 436 of the IPC, no other alleged offence is triable by the sessions court... Therefore the case is remanded back to the chief metropolitan magistrate (North East), Karkardooma Courts to proceed further in this case by law, in respect of other alleged offences,” the judge added.
The court noted that Section 436 referred to the destruction of any building, which was ordinarily used as a place of worship as a human dwelling, or as a place for the custody of the property and the place that was allegedly torched was an open place, having tin shed and used to keep cycle rickshaws.
The Dayalpur police station had registered an FIR against the accused persons based on the statement of the complainant, Mohsin Ali.
Later, three more complaints were clubbed together in the FIR.
Both accused were also charged under sections 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs 50 or upwards) 380 (theft in dwelling house, etc.) 454 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.
