A Delhi court acquitted nine accused in a 2020 Northeast Delhi riots case. (Express Photo by Nirbhay Thakur)A local court on Monday acquitted nine men, including Shah Alam, the brother of former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain, in a case related to causing vandalism during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots.The case, which pertained to multiple incidents during the riots, including an attack on an Innova Crysta, the burning of a motorcycle belonging to a police officer, looting and destroying street vendors’ carts, vandalism and theft of an e-rickshaw and arson at a shop was lodged at Dayalpur police station under sections of arson and being part of an unlawful assembly amongst others.“Ex PW19/2 (site plan) shows the incident at the main Wazirabad Road and on the side of Yamuna Vihar. However, according to the witnesses, i.e. the injured and the complainant, the incident had not happened at this place but had happened after Chand Bagh Pulia, which is not even near that place,” said Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh of Karkardooma Court in his 28-page judgement dated March 30.“Therefore, both these witnesses have completely blown apart the case of the prosecution as far as the place of the incident is concerned. In the light of this testimony, the testimonies of (then constable and head constable) PW9 and PW11 with regard to this incident are completely found to be false,” the court added while passing the judgment in the incident related to the attack on the Innova.“…according to PW9 and PW11, it was at around 1.00 p.m that they saw this Innova car going towards Khajuri Khas from the side of Gokalpuri and on the main Wazirabad Road, just opposite 25 Foota Road, this vehicle was stopped and attacked by the mob…As the incident had not even happened at that place, as has been deposed by PW14 and PW15 (both eye witnesses), testimonies of PW9 and PW11 cannot be relied upon at all and have to be considered false,” the Judge said.The judge also pulled up the police while giving observations on the incident involving the arson of a shop in Chand Bagh. The judge noted that while the man, whose shop had been burnt, said the incident took place on February 25, 2020, the police witnesses said that the incident took place a day earlier.“He is the person who has suffered a loss. He is the person whose property was burnt down in the riots. He could not have had any reason to deliberately change the date on which this incident had happened…That being the case, PW2 (alleged eyewitness), PW9 and PW11 could neither have seen this incident on 24.02.2020 nor could they have seen the accused engaged in a riot, vandalism and arson at Royal Motors,” the judge said.Story continues below this ad“With regard to other incidents, their testimonies are general in nature, lacks specificity and especially in view of the fact that these witnesses have deposed falsely with regard to the place of incident of Innova Crysta car as well as the date of incident of Royal Motors and having seen this incident, I find that it will be unsafe to rely upon the testimonies of these witnesses to convict the accused,” ASJ Singh added.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. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd