New Delhi, Apr 14 (PTI)

A Delhi court has acquitted former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain in a case of allegedly defacing public property by putting up a board wishing people a Happy New Year in 2015.

Also Read | Delhi Disaster Management Authority Meeting to Be Held on 20th April to Discuss the … – Latest Tweet by ANI.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Arun Kumar Garg granted the relief to the politician, saying there was no evidence produced by the prosecution to prove that the board/hoarding was either installed by the accused or that the same was installed at his instance or for his benefit.

“In fact, the IO (investigating officer) 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, 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,” the judge said in the order passed on Wednesday.

Also Read | Pakistan: Former PM Imran Khan Moves Pak SC To Ban Dissident PTI Lawmakers For Life.

According to the prosecution, the case was registered after a Head Constable of the Karawal Nagar Police Station saw a board with Hussain and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's photo with a message hung on an electric pole.

In its order, the court noted 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 . PTI UK

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)