Delhi HC closes overlapping FIR against ex-councillor Tahir Hussain

Delhi High Court quashes FIR against Tahir Hussain in Delhi violence case, merges chargesheet with existing case for justice.

The Delhi High Court has quashed an FIR against former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in a case stemming from the February 2020 north-east Delhi violence observing that a similar FIR against him is already in existence.

While the quashed FIR was registered on February 27, 2020 on a complaint by the aggrieved party for the alleged commission of offences, including rioting and mischief on the first floor of a building, under the IPC and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the first FIR was registered on February 25, 2020 on the basis of a complaint by a policeman for similar offences on the ground floor.

“A perusal of the two FIRs show that the rioters first broke open the shutters of Pradeep Parking and set fire to the vehicles parked there and then they went to the first floor of the building in question where food was being prepared for the marriage ceremony. It is stated that the rioters set fire to the goods and destroyed the items which were present on the first floor of the building in question... both the incidents are a part of the same incident,” the court said on November 26.

The court observed that the chargesheet filed by the Delhi police in the quashed FIR would be treated as a supplementary chargesheet in the February 25 case.

The court, however, noted the trial had begun in both the cases and since victims in both the cases were different, completely quashing the subsequent FIR would cause injustice to the victims in the case.

“The mistake of the prosecution in filing two FIRs for an incident which has occurred in the same building cannot result in injustice to the victims in FIR 116/2020, who will have no remedy in law if FIR 116/2020 is quashed,” the court stated.