2020 Delhi riots: Court convicts Tahir Hussain of abetment to rioting, acquits 12 others

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday convicted Tahir Hussain, a former AAP councillor who was expelled from the party, of abetment to rioting in a case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots in the Dayalpur area, while acquitting the 12 other accused of all charges.

Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh convicted Hussain under Section 147 (punishment for rioting) read with Section 109 (abetment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), while acquitting him of the other charges.

He was expelled by the AAP in February 2020, hours after an FIR was registered against him for his involvement in the northeast Delhi riots. He joined AIMIM, the Hyderabad-based party of Asaduddin Owaisi, in 2024 after which he contested the 2025 Delhi elections on AIMIM ticket but lost.

On Saturday, the court listed the matter for hearing arguments on the quantum of sentence against Hussain on November 16. The detailed order is awaited.

The 13 accused in the case were Hussain, Mohammad Shadab, Shah Alam, Riyasat Ali, Gulfam, Rashid, Mohammad Rihan, Mohammad Abid, Arshad Qayyum, Irshad Ahmed, Deepak Singh Saini, Navneet and Mehak Singh.

All of them were charged with rioting, causing damage to property, mischief by fire and criminal conspiracy, among other offences. The court acquitted Hussain's 12 co-accused of all charges, while convicting the former councillor on two counts and acquitting him of the rest.

In July, a Delhi court convicted Hussain and four others in a case related to the killing of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

The case pertains to an FIR registered at Dayalpur police station on a complaint by Sharma's father, Ravinder Kumar. Hussain was suspended by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after his name surfaced in the case.

The riots that broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020 left 53 people dead, injured several others, and caused extensive property damage.