Court dismisses Tahir Hussain's plea to surrender, police arrests him

New Delhi: Absconding AAP councillor Tahir Hussain was arrested by Delhi Police on Thursday after a court here dismissed his plea seeking to surrender before it in connection with the alleged killing of Intelligence Bureau (IB) official Ankit Sharma during the recent violence in northeast Delhi.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vishal Pahuja refused to entertain Hussain's plea saying that the relief sought by him was outside the court's jurisdiction.

The court said that as per the provisions of 177 Criminal Procedure Code (Ordinary place of inquiry and trial), the offence shall ordinarily be inquired into and tried by a court within whose local jurisdiction it is committed.

"In the instant case, the offence has been committed within the jurisdiction of PS Dayalpur which falls within the jurisdiction of Karkardooma Court. The reason given in the application for moving this application does not justify the conduct of the applicant to choose this forum for seeking the reliefs," the judge said.

Advocate Mukesh Kalia, appearing for Hussain, submitted that there is a grave apprehension of threat to his life and therefore he has not surrendered before a competent court as there is "charged environment" in Karkardooma District court.

He said Hussain has no connection or involvement in the FIR registered by the police and he is being falsely implicated.

Considering the gravity of the situation, Hussain wishes to surrender before the court, he said.

The court said the Delhi High Court has specifically made a division of the jurisdictions be that of the police stations or the courts district-wise and work has been allocated accordingly.

It said: "This court is a special designated court dealing with the matters of MPs/MLAs. The high court has designated this court as a special court to deal with cases on a fast track with an endeavour to dispose of the same within one year as its objective.

"The applicant does not fall in the aforesaid category, hence this application cannot be even entertained by this court."

The court further said that the relief sought by Hussain does not fall within the domain or jurisdiction of this court, "hence, no such relief can be granted. In view of the observations, the application deserves to be dismissed".

As the court dismissed Hussain's plea, a Delhi Police team, which had already arrived, arrested him and took him into custody.

Hussain moved the surrender application before the court saying that he was willing to join the investigation and wanted to surrender in the case.

Hussain has been booked in the murder case of the IB staffer in northeast Delhi amid violence over the new citizenship law last week.

Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had then suspended him for alleged involvement in the violence which has left at least 42 people dead and around 200 injured.

The family of Sharma (26), who was found dead in a drain near his home in northeast Delhi's riot-hit Chand Bagh area, has accused Hussain of being behind the killing.

On the complaint of Sharma's father, the police registered an FIR against Hussain, who has rejected the charge. Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi four days ago after violence between anti-and-pro-Citizenship (Amendment) Act groups spiralled out of control.

Frenzied mobs torched houses, shops, vehicles, a petrol pump and pelted stones at local residents and police personnel.