10 foreigners who attended Tablighi Jamaat event get bail

The sessions court on Friday granted bail to 10 Indonesian nationals who had been arrested in April for allegedly failing to disclose the details of their participation

The sessions court on Friday granted bail to 10 Indonesian nationals who had been arrested in April for allegedly failing to disclose the details of their participation at the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Nizamuddin Markaz, Delhi.

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The 10 accused had earlier been denied bail by the metropolitan magistrate court on Monday, following which they had approached the sessions court.

Their lawyer, Ishrat Khan, pleaded that the charges of attempt to murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder do not apply to the case. It was also submitted that the 10 were tested negative for Covid-19.

Public prosecutor Ramesh Shiroya had objected their bail plea on the ground that the accused did not abide by the orders of the authorities and did not come forward to admit that they had attended the event. The prosecution also argued that the accused knew about the spread of virus in their country, despite which they entered India, and two other group members were found infected.

The court however, accepted the argument of the defence lawyer and granted bail to the 10 accused.

According to the case registered by Bandra police, 12 people including the 10 arrested, had visited Delhi from Indonesia in March for the religious meet. After attending the event, they came to Mumbai on March 7 and were staying at an apartment in Bandra.

Two members of this group were kept in quarantine, after they were tested positive for Covid-19. Khan had approached the court for their pre-arrest bail before the quarantine period ended. The two now are granted interim protection from arrest and their plea is scheduled for hearing on Monday.