Ponty shootout: HC orders framing of murder charge

Delhi High Court today directed framing of murder charges against all 21 accused, including sacked Uttarakhand minorities panel chief S S Namdhari and his PSO, in the case relating to a 2012 shootout in which liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his brother Hardeep were killed.
Justice S P Garg said "it was not permissible" for the trial court to exonerate Namdhari and his PSO, Sachin Tyagi, of the offence of murder at the stage of consideration of charge when there were specific allegations that they had killed him by firing repeatedly at Hardeep.
"The trial court misdirected itself to find respondents No. 7 and 8's (Namdhari and Tyagi) case falling within exception 4 to section 300 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) IPC in the absence of any such plea or evidence.

"It was for these accused during trial to establish their case was covered within the said exception and firing at their instance was in self-defence or that the shooting incident was a sudden and unexpected event," the high court said.
The judge also said "in my considered view, prima facie there was ample material to proceed against respondents No.7 and 8 under section 302 (murder)/34 (common intention) of IPC.
"The other respondents were also prima facie equally liable for the said acts of respondents No.7 & 8 with the aid of section 149 (unlawful assembly) of IPC," the court said while allowing the Delhi Police's plea challenging the trial court's decision to drop murder charges against all the accused.

The court in its 30-page judgement noted that it was "not a case of trespass or dispossession simplicitor. The common object of the unlawful assembly was to get possession of farmhouse No.42 by any means whatsoever even using violence.
"It was a pre-planned well thought conspiracy or else there was no occasion for 'Ponty' to direct 'Namdhari' and accused Narender Ahlawat to mobilise resources to achieve the object."
"In the light of above discussion, the criminal revision petition filed by the state is allowed in the above terms. Charge under sections 302/34 IPC shall be framed against respondents No.7 & 8. The other respondents shall be charged under section 302 of IPC read with section 149 of IPC," it said.