New Delhi: A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court will hear the bail plea of former councillor and February 2020 Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain on January 28.
Hussain had moved the apex court seeking interim bail to campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls slated next month in the capital. He could not secure interim bail on January 22, after a two-judge bench comprising justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah gave a split verdict. While Justice Mithal refused interim bail for Hussain, Justice Amanullah said he could be released on interim bail. Hussain's plea is scheduled for hearing on January 28, before a bench comprising justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta.
The two-judge bench had observed that the allegations against the petitioner in the present case are not only in connection with rioting but also the murder of an official of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Justice Mithal noted that it had been alleged that Hussain's house/office was being used as the epicentre for the commission of the aforesaid offences in which murder of one Ankit Sharma, MHA official, is a sequel.
Justice Mithal further said the involvement of Hussain in as many as 11 cases including the present along with one pertaining to PMLA and nine in relation to Delhi riots of 2020, dilute and erode his position as a law-abiding citizen. “It is high time that the citizens of India deserve a clean India, which means clean politics as well and for the said purpose, it is necessary that people with tainted image, especially those who are in custody and had not been granted bail and those who are undertrial, even if out of jail, be restricted in some way or the other from participating in the election”, said Justice Mithal. He stressed that the people of India should be given a choice to elect people with clean image and antecedents. Justice Mithal noted that the trial in the case against Hussain could get affected with him attempting to influence or threaten witnesses if released on bail for campaigning.
However, Justice Amanullah said he did to concur with Justice Mithal’s opinion. “It is settled law that magnitude and gravity of the offence alleged are not grounds, in and by themselves, to deny bail… more so when trial is prolonged”, said Justice Amanullah, adding that the petitioner’s rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution cannot be lost sight of, and, a on date, no court of law has convicted the petitioner. He further said, “On the short point of period under custody already undergone as also the bail secured in the other cases, I am of the considered view that, subject to appropriate conditions being imposed, the Petitioner can be granted interim bail for a limited period”.
On January 14, the Delhi High Court had granted custody parole to Hussain to file his nomination papers from the Mustafabad constituency on an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) ticket. However, the high court had rejected his plea for interim bail from January 14 to February 9 to contest the Violence had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, leaving 53 people dead and several injured.
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