Tahir Hussain's counsel said that the police themselves were unable to control the violent mob, and in such a situation, a single individual cannot be held responsible for the murder. (Express File)
Special public prosecutor Madhukar Pandey, on behalf of the Delhi Police, told the court, “Those who want mercy should also show mercy. They have no evidence to show that any mercy was shown by any person to carry this person to a hospital.”
Claiming that the convicts “turned into butchers during the crime”, Pandey said, “There was not even a single cloth except underwear on Sharma’s body. These people should be kept behind bars, (and) given the death sentence.” He added that the “manner of this killing is not to be seen in isolation, but with the 53 people killed in the riots. So, the context also became relevant, the context in which the riots took place,” he added.
Pandey argued during the hearing, “Ankit Sharma was abducted and relentlessly assaulted before he was killed. A total of 51 wounds were found on his body; 18 of those were inflicted with sharp weapons. The nature of the weapons used shows the intent and diabolical nature of the crime. They fell to the level of being animals. Even after the victim died, they continued the assault.”
“My humble submission is that the commission of this offence, and the conduct of the convicts, was such that no leniency should be shown to the convicts. There was no provocation in this case. They deliberately got involved in a cold-blooded murder. In this case, the balance of sentencing policy should be shifted towards the death sentence,” he said.
On the other hand, Tahir Hussain’s counsel opposed the demand for the death penalty, stating that it should only be given in the rarest of rare cases. Citing the good conduct of Hussain, they also said that the punishment of death couldn’t be given merely on the basis of the injuries sustained. The defence —- led by advocates Rajiv Mohan, Narula, Sonal Sarda and Shivangi Sharma —- further argued that throughout the entire trial, no evidence of criminal conspiracy was presented before the court and that the police themselves were unable to control the violent mob.
Advocate Tara Narula, representing Husain, also contended that he is the sole breadwinner of his family and has a wife and three children.
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Six years after Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma (26) was killed during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, a Delhi court on July 13 convicted former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Councillor Tahir Hussain and four others in the case.
Hussain, who was suspended by the AAP soon after the incident, was convicted of murder and rioting, among other charges. He was, however, acquitted of the criminal conspiracy charge.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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