The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its verdict on confirmation of the death penalty awarded to Ariz Khan, following his conviction in the sensational 2008 Batla House encounter case, in which decorated Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma lost his life.
“Arguments have been heard. Verdict reserved,” said a Bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Amit Sharma after the lawyers for the convict and the State concluded their submissions. Advocate MS Khan argued that there was nothing to suggest that Ariz Khan can’t be reformed.
“If there is a probability, not possibility, that the convict can be reformed, life sentence is the rule. There is a probability of transformation and reformation,” he submitted.
Special Public Prosecutor Rajesh Mahajan, representing the Delhi Government, said that killing a uniformed police officer was a “rarest of rare” case which justified the death sentence. He also placed before the court Ariz Khan’s social investigation report and psychological analysis report, and submitted he has “adequate intellectual and cognitive functioning” and his conduct in jail was “unsatisfactory.”
Inspector Sharma of the Delhi Police’s Special Cell was killed during the encounter between the police and terrorists in Jamia Nagar in South Delhi on September 19, 2008. Two terrorists were also killed in the encounter which took place days after five synchronised bomb explosions rocked the national Capital, killing 39 people and wounding 159. Sharma had raided the place while looking for the terrorists responsible for the blasts.
The trial court had on March 8, 2021, convicted Ariz Khan, saying it was duly proved that he and his associates murdered the police officer and fired gunshots at him. On March 15, 2021, it had awarded Khan capital punishment and also imposed a fine of Rs 11 lakh on him, making it clear that Rs 10 lakh should be immediately released to the family of Sharma.
Subsequently, the High Court received a reference for confirmation of the death sentence awarded by the trial court to Khan. When a trial court sentences a person to death, its verdict is examined by the High Court where arguments are heard for confirmation of the death sentence.