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A Delhi court on Wednesday acquitted former Aam Admi Party (AAP) councilor Tahir Hussain charged under Section 3 of The Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, (DPDP Act) in a 2015 case after he had allegedly put up a board/hoardings on Happy New Year, wishing people.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Arun Kumar Garg held that there was not even an ‘iota of evidence’ by the prosecution to prove that the board/hoarding was either installed by Hussain or that the same was installed at his instance or for his benefit.

This is the message displayed on the board/hoardings- 

“Aap Sabhi ko Nav Varsh Ki Mubarakbad. Dilli ne pukara Kejriwal Dubara (Wishing you all a Happy New Year. Delhi has called for Kejriwal again); Mohd. Tahir Hussain Karyakarta Aam Adami Party Mustafabad Vidhansabha; 5 saal Kejriwal.”

CMM Garg said, “In fact, the IO has failed to point out in the charge sheet as to how he had pinned down the name of the accused as the installer of the Board Ex. P3, in as much as, he has neither recorded the statement of residents of the locality where the board in question was found affixed by the police nor has he recorded the statement of the printer.” 

Court observed that none of the witnesses examined by the prosecution in its evidence even deposed that the board in question was either hung on the pole by the accused or that the same was installed at his instance.

It was only during their cross-examination that they said that they had made inquiries from some other public persons about the name of the people who had installed this board, yet upon further questioning, they could not tell the names and addresses of these, noted Court.

Therefore, Court held that in the absence of any proof of the installation of the alleged board by or at the behest of the accused, much less, the proof beyond reasonable doubts qua the said fact, there is no question of the accused being guilty of the offense of defacement of the property within the meaning of Section 3 of DPDP Act.

Case Title: HC Balbir Singh v. Mohd. Tahir Hussain