The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to suspend the life sentence of a man convicted for firing and murder outside Rohini Court in 2017, ANI reported. At the time of the offence, the appellant was a minor aged more than 17 years. He was apprehended from the spot and was convicted and sentenced in January 2026.

Source: ANI via Devdiscourse

As per Delhi Police, the appellant was associated with the Neeraj Bawana gang and shot dead Rajesh Durmuth, described by police as a member of a rival gang, outside Rohini Court when Durmuth was brought for a court hearing by the Haryana Police while in custody. A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Dinesh Bhatt refused to suspend the sentence after hearing arguments, noting that the appellant had fired outside the court and shot dead a person who was in police custody, and that the court was informed he was also named in other cases.

Advocate Parveen Dabas, appearing for the appellant, submitted that he has been in custody for 7 years and 9 months and that there were lapses in the investigation, including that residue samples were taken but not sent for forensic examination. The appellant's case is also that four other accused arrested by the police were all discharged by the trial court.

Additional Public Prosecutor Ritesh Bahri opposed the suspension application, submitting that the appellant was convicted for firing on and shooting a prisoner in Haryana Police custody, that he was involved and named in other cases, and that he was booked in another case in Jhajjar, Haryana while he was on interim bail in this case. The High Court listed the appeal against the judgment and sentence for hearing in January 2027.