Today (13th March) Umar Khalid, an activist and former scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court contesting the dropping of charges against individuals accused of attempting to murder him. The charges stem from an incident outside the Constitution Club in New Delhi in 2018. The High Court has issued a notice to the Delhi Police and the accused individuals, Darwesh Shahpur and Naveen Dalal, scheduling further proceedings for May 21.
NEW DELHI: Today (13th March): An activist and former scholar of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has taken legal action by moving the Delhi High Court to contest a trial court’s decision to dismiss an attempt to murder charge against two individuals who fired shots at him outside the Constitution Club in New Delhi.
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Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta of the High Court issued a notice on Wednesday to the Delhi Police and the accused individuals, Darwesh Shahpur and Naveen Dalal. The court has requested their responses and scheduled further consideration of the case for May 21.
It is admitted that during the initial incident at approximately 2:07 PM, there were claims of the accused pointing a pistol towards the complainant. However, none of the witnesses testified that the accused had actually pulled the trigger or tried to do so. Additionally, it was accepted by the prosecution that during the subsequent incident, when the accused Naveen Dalal was being followed by the public witness Khalid Saifi, Dalal fired shots aimed towards the ground and not at any individual.
Representing the activist, Khalid, Senior Advocate Trideep Pais argued before the High Court, emphasizing the shocking nature of the trial court’s ruling. Pais highlighted that the accused individuals had stalked Khalid on social media, acquired a firearm, and meticulously planned the entire incident, even going as far as recording a video confessing to their actions.
Background
The incident dates back to August 13, 2018, when Khalid was targeted outside the Constitution Club during an event organized by a group called ‘United Against Hate’. Following the incident, Shahpur and Dalal were apprehended by the Delhi Police.
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Initially, the police had charged the accused under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 201 (destroying evidence), and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with Sections 25/27 of the Arms Act.
However, on December 6, 2023, a Sessions Court discharged the two individuals under Section 307 (attempt to murder) offense of the IPC. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala of Patiala House Court based his decision on the eyewitness accounts, stating that when Dalal aimed the gun at Khalid, no shots were fired, and when shots were indeed discharged, they were directed towards the ground, not at any individual.
The trial court concluded that there was no concrete evidence to establish a definite intention to cause death on the part of the accused in the second incident. Consequently, the court ruled that without such intention, the accused cannot be charged with the offense punishable under Section 307 IPC.
Following the discharge of the accused from the Section 307 offense, the trial court directed that since the remaining charges against them fall within the jurisdiction of a magistrate, the case file should be transferred to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.
