Allahabad High Court granted bail to Zafar Ali, citing lack of direct proof linking him to the Sambhal mosque violence. The court said custody can’t be used as punishment without prima facie evidence.
Prayagraj: On July 30, the Allahabad High Court has granted bail to Zafar Ali, who is the Chairman of the Sambhal Jama Masjid Committee. He was arrested in connection with a case involving alleged mob violence that happened during a mosque survey in November 2024.
The court, led by Justice Sameer Jain, allowed his bail application after observing that there was no solid proof showing his direct role in the violence or in stopping the survey.
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The case goes back to November 24, 2024, when a civil court-appointed Commission went to survey a mosque in Sambhal district. As per the First Information Report (FIR), a huge mob of around 700–800 people gathered and stopped the officials from carrying out the survey.
The FIR claimed that the mob also damaged public property, including police vehicles. Among those named in the FIR were Zia-Ur-Rahman Barq and Suhail Iqbal. However, Zafar Ali was not named in the FIR.
Zafar Ali was arrested later on March 23, 2025, when he appeared before the investigating officer after receiving a notice under Section 179 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). His lawyer argued that Zafar Ali was being wrongly targeted.
The defense said that he was arrested only because he had earlier criticized the police for unrelated incidents in the area where four people had reportedly died.
According to the defense, the case against him was weak and based on false claims. They said his arrest was “retaliatory.”
The court carefully looked into the matter and noted that even though Zafar Ali was accused of being “instrumental” in the protest because he was the head of the mosque committee, there was no real evidence showing that he took part in the violence.
“Instrumental” was a word used by the prosecution, but the judge said there was no proof of Zafar Ali’s physical presence during the incident.
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The High Court also took note of the fact that co-accused Zia-Ur-Rahman Barq was not arrested due to earlier directions from the High Court, and another accused, Suhail Iqbal, had already been cleared during the police investigation.
Later, the investigating team added more serious charges under Sections 230 and 231 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which are offences that can be punished with life imprisonment.
But the High Court said that these extra charges were not based on “admissible and cogent evidence.” The judge mentioned that these charges appeared to be included only because of Zafar Ali’s statements in a press conference where he had spoken against the police.
The Court said,
“The materials on record did not justify continued incarceration, especially when the charge sheet had already been filed and the applicant had been in custody for over four months.” It also emphasized that “bail should not be denied as a punitive measure, particularly in the absence of prima facie evidence.”
Finally, the High Court ordered that Zafar Ali be released on bail. He must provide a personal bond and two sureties as required by law.
The court added strict conditions for his bail, saying he must not try to tamper with the evidence or take part in any criminal activity.
The court also made it clear that its observations were only for the purpose of deciding the bail application and will not affect the trial in the future.
The order was passed on July 24, 2025, by Justice Sameer Jain of the Allahabad High Court.
Case Title:
Zafar Ali vs State of UP
Read Judgement:
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