By Rajesh Pandey
A two-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court has delivered a split verdict in the nine-year-old case relating to the shooting and killing of National Investigation Agency (NIA) Deputy Superintendent of Police Tanzeel Ahmed and his wife, Farzan, in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district, resulting in the matter being referred to the Chief Justice for further consideration.
While Justice Rajiv Gupta ruled in favour of acquitting the accused, Justice Harvir Singh partially upheld the May 2022 judgment of the Bijnor trial court, confirming the conviction of accused Raiyyan but commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment.
In his detailed order dated December 11, Justice Rajiv Gupta pointed out what he described as serious omissions, inconsistencies and contradictions in the prosecution’s case, particularly in the testimonies of key eyewitnesses.
He noted that the defence had successfully demonstrated that the names of the alleged assailants were not disclosed by the deceased officer’s brother and daughter at the time of lodging the First Information Report (FIR), raising doubts about the reliability of later identifications.
Justice Gupta observed that such gaps in thprosecution’son evidence weakened the case beyond a reasonable doubt, warranting acquittal.
Justice Harvir Singh, however, took a different view. While agreeing that the death penalty was not warranted, he upheld the trial court’s findings on guilt and ruled that life imprisonment was the appropriate sentence for Raiyyan.
Due to these sharply divergent judicial opinions, the case has now been referred to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, who is expected to constitute a special three-judge bench to re-hear the matter and deliver a final verdict.
The case against the second accused, Munir, stood abated as he died during the pendency of the appeal before the High Court.
The incident dates back to April 2016, when Tanzeel Ahmed and his wife, Farzan, were returning from a wedding in Kasba Seohara town of Bijnor district.
As their car was heading back from the venue, two motorcycle-borne assailants — Raiyyan and Munir — allegedly overtook the vehicle and opened fire, shooting multiple rounds at close range.
Tanzeel Ahmed, who was then serving as a Deputy Superintendent of Police in the NIA and was actively involved in probing several terror-related cases, died on the spot.
His wife, Farzana, sustained critical gunshot injuries and succumbed ten days later during treatment.
During the trial, the sessions court examined 19 prosecution witnesses, including Tanzeel’s brother Raghib Masood, eyewitness Hasib, who testified about the presence of the accused and the firing incident, and the daughter of the deceased officer.
In May 2022, the sessions court convicted both Raiyyan and Munir for murder, awarding them the death penalty and imposing a fine of ₹1 lakh each.
The High Court proceedings arose from appeals challenging this verdict.
With the High Court now divided, the outcome will depend on the decision of the larger bench, which will reassess the evidence and legal issues afresh.
#AllahabadHighCourt #SplitVerdict #NIAOfficerMurder #TanzeelAhmedCase #JudicialProcess #DeathPenaltyDebate #UPNews #RuleOfLaw