Prayagraj (UP), April 8 The Allahabad High Court has overturned the death sentence awarded to a man convicted of the 2016 killing of an NIA officer, who was investigating several "high-profile cases related to national security," and his wife, and ordered his release from jail.
Mohammad Tanzil, an officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and his wife Farzana were shot dead on the night of April 2 and 3, 2016, when they were returning from a wedding.
The HC said that the prosecution's case was full of doubts and pointed to "unexplained and questionable conduct" of prosecution witnesses.
An Additional District and Sessions Court in Bijnor had awarded the death penalty to two accused – Munir and Raiyyan – in the case. While Munir later died in hospital after a prolonged illness, Raiyyan has remained in jail since April 7, 2016.
Overturning the conviction, a single bench of Justice Siddharth observed that the trial court had committed a "grave error" in awarding the death penalty.
"Therefore, this court is of the view that the judgment and order passed by the trial court deserve to be set aside, and is set aside accordingly. The appellant is acquitted of all charges and shall be released forthwith, if not wanted in any other case," the court said in its March 31 order.
The court noted that the officer "was investigating several high-profile cases relating to national security, including terrorism".
It further said that police teams camped at the crime scene for months and detained several persons from nearby areas, but failed to find any reliable evidence.
The court said that the accused were initially named in statements of prosecution witnesses recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC "under duress" in an attempt to solve the case. It said that the accused were identified by witnesses for the first time during the trial.
According to the FIR, Tanzil, along with his wife Farzana, niece Zimnish and nephew Shahbaz, was returning by car after attending a wedding when two motorcycle-borne assailants intercepted them and opened fire, killing the couple on the spot.