HC denies bail to Tahir Hussain, 2 others in Delhi riots case

Additional sessions judge Bajpai stated that the court had already dismissed the earlier bail petitions of the applicants, where it had held that the allegations against the accused were prima facie true and that the bar under Section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) applied in the case.

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Thursday denied bail to former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and two other accused in the northeast Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, observing that the allegations against them remained prima facie true.

The court of additional sessions judge (ASJ) Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma Court passed the orders (Representative photo)

The court of additional sessions judge (ASJ) Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma Court passed the orders in bail applications moved by Hussain, Athar Khan and Salim Malik.

ASJ Bajpai stated that the court had already dismissed the earlier bail petitions of the applicants, where it had held that the allegations against the accused were prima facie true and that the bar under Section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) applied in the case.

The particular Section requires the court to deny bail to a person accused under the UAPA if there were reasonable grounds to believe that the accusation was prima facie true.

In a similar observation for the three accused, ASJ Bajpai reasoned that given that it had already delved on the facts of their case in the earlier bail applications, no difference circumstance had arisen for it to change its opinion.

In their applications, the accused persons sought parity with the five persons granted bail in the same case by the Supreme Court on January 5, a verdict they claimed had changed circumstances in their favour. Their counsels claimed that their roles were on a lower footing than the case against those granted bail by the apex court.

The Supreme Court in its judgement denied bail to JNU student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, while granting bail to five other accused persons — Gulfisha Fatima, Saleem Khan, Shadab Ahmad, Shifa-ur-Rehman, and Meeran Haider.

While denying bail to Khalid and Imam, the court cited the gravity and statutory nature of their alleged offences and their “central and formative” roles in the conspiracy.

The bench stated that both of the accused stood on a different footing of culpability, as they played a central role in “conceptualising” and “coordinating” the alleged terrorist act, while the allegations against the five co-accused were of a subsidiary or “facilitative” nature.

A total of 18 accused are facing prosecution for allegedly being part of a coordinated conspiracy that culminated in communal violence in northeast Delhi in February 2020, leaving 53 people dead and hundreds injured. Eleven of the accused are currently out on bail.

While 15 accused were named in the initial chargesheet filed before the Karkardooma court on September 16, 2020, three others, including Imam and Khalid, were named in the supplementary chargesheet filed two months later. A total of five chargesheets have been filed by the Delhi Police in the case.