Batla House Encounter: Delhi High Court Refuses To Confirm Death Penalty Awarded To Ariz Khan, Upholds Conviction

The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to confirm the death penalty awarded to Ariz Khan, who was convicted by a trial court in the 2008 Batla house encounter case in which Delhi Police’s inspector Mohan Chand Sharma was killed.

division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Amit Sharma however upheld the trial court order convicting Khan in the case and commuted the sentence of death penalty to rigorous imprisonment for life.

“….we are of the opinion that the present case does not fall under the category of a ̳rarest of rare case‘. Accordingly, this Court is of the considered view that the sentence of rigorous imprisonment for life would be an appropriate sentence,” the court said while disposing of the reference for confirmation of death penalty awarded to Khan.

The court also said that it is conscious of the fact that during the incident, the country lost a decorated police officer who sacrificed his life in the line of duty and that his contribution will never be forgotten by an eternally grateful nation. 

However, it added that the circumstances of the present case are not sufficient for it to fall under the category of ‘rarest of rare‘ case.

Whilw partly allowed Khan’s appeal against his conviction and order of sentence, the court also reduced the fine imposed on him by the trial court from Rs  11 lakhs to Rs. 1.15 lakhs. 

The court said that Khan is not capable of paying the amount of fine imposed on him for various offences totaling to Rs. 11 lakhs.

 ”In the present case, we have already held that the testimony of the eye-witnesses and other corroborating material establish the presence of the appellant at the place of incident and the factum of his firing at the raiding party while fleeing from the spot. But at the same time, it is pertinent to note that there is nothing on record to attribute the fatal shot responsible for the death of late Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma to any particular accused,” the court said.

In March 2021, a trial court convicted Ariz and awarded him death penalty, observing that it was a fit case falling in the "rarest of the rare" category deserving the maximum sentence under the law.

He was convicted for the offence under Sections 186, 333, 353, 302, 307, 174A , 34 of Indian Penal Code and Section 27 of the Arms Act.

The trial court had observed there was no chance of Ariz's reformation and that the abhorrent and brutal act of firing on the policemen without any provocation showed that he was not only a threat to the society but also was an enemy of the State.

About the Batla House Encounter

On September 19, 2008, two Indian Mujahideen terrorists namely Atif Ameen and Mohd Sajid were killed during the encounter. The said encounter also claimed life of Delhi Police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma who succumbed to the bullet injuries sustained in the gunfight.

On receiving the tip, a Delhi Police's Special Cell team reached flat no. 108 of L-18 Batla House headed by Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma who was later shot by one of the accused persons. After the encounter, Ariz was declared as a proclaimed offender after he managed to escape the site.

He was then arrested by the Delhi Police in 2018 from Uttarakhand's Banbasa bordering Nepal. According to the Police, Ariz had acquired a Nepali citizenship card and passport under the fake identity of being one "Mohammad Salim".

Title: State v. Ariz Khan

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 950

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