'Barbarity Was Nauseating And Sickening': What Delhi Court Said While Sentencing Tahir Hussain To Life

Published 31 July 2026 · local

'Barbarity Was Nauseating And Sickening': What Delhi Court Said While Sentencing Tahir Hussain To Life Published By, Last Updated: July 31, 2026, 20:38 IST A

'Barbarity Was Nauseating And Sickening': What Delhi Court Said While Sentencing Tahir Hussain To Life Published By, Last Updated: July 31, 2026, 20:38 IST A Delhi court sentenced Tahir Hussain to life in the Ankit Sharma murder case, calling the crime 'nauseating and sickening'. Karkardooma Court in Delhi pronounced the sentence A Delhi court on Friday sentenced former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Delhi riots. While describing the killing as “nauseating and sickening", the court declined the prosecution’s demand for the death penalty, saying the convicts were capable of reform. Let’s take a look at what the Delhi Court said while sentencing Tahir Hussain to life “The savagery did not end there [with the murder of Sharma].

Instead, the body was strapped like an animal as if the hatred had still not satiated. The body was then thrown into the nallah (drain). The barbarity with which this horrendous crime was committed is nauseating and sickening." “The crime was committed when Delhi was going through communal riots. Sharma was sucked in by a murderous mob baying for blood. The barbarity with which this crime was committed is an aggravating circumstance of immense magnitude." “The crime test tilts the case towards the rarest of rare category. However, it has not been shown that any of the convicts previously were involved in any violent crime. Their conduct in custody, except for minor infractions, has been entirely satisfactory, indicating that they can be disciplined and reformed." “The prosecution failed to prove that Tahir Hussain aided, abetted, instigated or led the unlawful assembly.

The allegation that his house was used as a launchpad for the riots was neither part of the charges framed against him nor specifically proved through evidence." “There is no bar on awarding the death penalty to a convict found guilty of murder with the aid of Section 149 IPC. However, before a life is extinguished by judicial decree, something beyond mere membership of an unlawful assembly must be proved." News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Anushka Vats Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news.