Delhi HC Seeks Police Response on Tahir Hussain's Bail Plea in Ankit Sharma Murder Case

New Delhi [India], May 5 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the police's response to a bail plea filed by AIMIM leader and former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain. The plea pertains to his alleged involvement in the murder of IB staffer Ankit Sharma during the northeast Delhi riots in February 2020.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna issued notice to the police and listed the matter for July 19, 2025.
Hussain has challenged the trial court's March 12, 2025, decision, which denied him bail. The trial Court judge remarked that he was not convinced by the applicant's argument that there had been a significant change in circumstances warranting reconsideration of previous court rulings. As a result, the bail application was rejected.
The trial court observed that this was the fourth bail application filed under Section 483 of the BNSS, 2023, on behalf of the applicant, Mohd. Tahir Hussain. The applicant's first bail plea was rejected by the court on July 13, 2020. His second bail application was denied on December 3, 2024. The third bail application was withdrawn and subsequently dismissed by the High Court of Delhi on February 20, 2025.
According to the counsel representing Tahir Hussain, the latest bail application has been filed citing a material change in circumstances. The applicant has been incarcerated for nearly five years (four years and eleven months).
It was highlighted that following the rejection of Hussain's previous bail plea, key public witnesses did not support the prosecution's case.
The defence also pointed out that all public witnesses to the murder of Ankit Sharma have been examined. Furthermore, they argued that Hussain's case is comparatively stronger than that of co-accused individuals, including Haseen alias Mullaji and Sameer Khan, who are alleged to have committed the murder and have already been granted bail.
On February 26, 2020, complainant Ravinder Kumar reported to Dayalpur police that his son, Ankit Sharma, an Intelligence Bureau officer, had been missing since February 25. Locals later informed him that a murdered individual had been thrown into the Khajuri Khas drain from a mosque in Chand Bagh.
The prosecution stated that Sharma's body was recovered from the drain with 51 injuries. Hussain is among the accused, along with four others, allegedly part of a violent mob involved in rioting and arson that led to Sharma's death.
Communal clashes erupted in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, following violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters, resulting in 53 deaths and numerous injuries. (ANI)