New Delhi, 27 October (H.S.): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to suspend the life sentence of a convict in the 2017 Rohini court murder case, who was a minor at the time of the crime. A Bench headed by Justice Prathiba M. Singh declined to grant bail, citing the extreme gravity of the offence and the brazen violation of law and order. The matter has been listed for further hearing in January 2027.

The court observed that the convict had acted with audacity by opening fire just outside the court premises and brutally killing a person who was in police custody. Advocate Ritesh Kumar Bahri, appearing for the Delhi Police, informed the court that the convict had continued to be involved in other criminal cases.

The Delhi Police also brought to the court’s attention that another criminal case had been registered against the convict in Jhajjar, Haryana, while he was out of prison on interim bail in the present matter.

On April 29, 2017, the convict allegedly shot Rajesh, alias Kala, a member of a rival gang lodged in Jhajjar jail, at close range outside the Rohini court complex as he was being taken back after a court appearance. Haryana Police personnel were escorting Rajesh from the court to the jail when the shooting took place, resulting in his death.

The Delhi Police had also linked the convict to the Neeraj Bawana gang. He was slightly over 17 years old at the time of the incident but was legally a minor. As he was apprehended at the crime scene, he was tried as an adult in view of the grave nature of the offence.

A trial court convicted him in January 2026 and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the convict’s counsel, Praveen Dabas, argued that his client had spent more than seven years in prison and raised questions about alleged shortcomings in the police investigation. However, the High Court declined to grant interim suspension of the sentence.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar