Delhi High Court commutes the death penalty awarded to Ariz Khan to life imprisonment. Khan was sentenced to death penalty by trial court for the murder of Delhi Police Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma. The order was pronounced by a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Amit Sharma. The trial court convicted Khan on March 8, 2021, saying it was duly proved that he and his associates killed the police official and fired gunshots at him.On March 15, 2021, it sentenced Khan to capital punishment and also imposed a fine of ₹11 lakh on him, making it clear that ₹10 lakh should immediately be released to the family members of Sharma.
Subsequently, the high court received a reference for confirmation of Khan's death sentence. When a trial court sentences any person to death, its judgement is examined by the high court through hearing arguments for a confirmation of the sentence.In its judgment, the trial court had described Khan's act of firing on a police party without any provocation as "abhorrent and brutal", and said this itself showed that he was not only a threat to the society, but also an enemy of the State.
The trial court, which had said the convict, on account of his despicable act, has forfeited his right to live, held that the offence proved against Khan was not an ordinary act but a crime against the State, and while committing it, he acted like a "dreaded and well-trained terrorist" who does not deserve any leniency.Khan had fled the spot of the offence and was declared a proclaimed offender. He was arrested on February 14, 2018.Sharma of the Delhi Police's Special Cell was killed in the encounter between police and terrorists in south Delhi's Jamia Nagar on September 19, 2008. Two terrorists were also killed in the encounter that 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.