Delhi: CP shootout not a conspiracy, Rathi's lawyer tells co

Assistant Commissioner of Police S S Rathi and nine others sentenced to life imprisonment for killing two innocent businessman 12 years ago in Connaught place have told the Delhi High Court that there was no conspiracy angle in the case and therefore charges of section 120(b) of IPC leveled on them should be removed.

Arguing before a bench of Justice B N Chaturvedi and Justice G S Sistani, their lawyer Pt Naseem told the Court that the police personnel was to arrest Yasin, a dreaded criminal who according to a tip off, was to reach Patparganj Mother diary on that day.

As per the CBI, the police team had gunned down Haryana based businessmen Pradeep Goyal and Jagjit Singh and injured Tarunpreet Singh, another passenger in the car at Barakhamba Road on March 31, 1997 in a fake encounter.

Rathi, the lawyer argued, had been entrusted with the task of nabbing gangster Mohammed Yasin and there was no plan to shoot him.

The Prosecution alleged the police team HAD indiscriminately fired on the instruction of ACP Rathi without any provocation.

There was a common intention as well as conspiracy to kill the people in the car.

Senior lawyer Dinesh Mathur contended that framing of charges for conspiracy was wrong as there was not an iota of evidence to prove these charges.

Mr Mathur stated that section 120(b)IPC was in itself a substantive charge, so alternate charge of section 34IPC for the same offence cannot be leveled.

Solicitor General P P Malhotra appearing for the CBI said since there was no firing from inside the car, the policemen had conspired to kill the innocents.’ Why did they not arrest the inmates of the car?’ he asked.

The Court said, ‘We want to know whether charges for hatching criminal conspiracy should have been framed at all’. The Court asked Mr Malhotra to assist it in this matter and file a summary of points as to prove how the charge of conspiracy leveled on the accused was justified in this case.