A Delhi court has denied bail to former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and co-accused Salim Malik and Athar Khan in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. The court held that a prima facie case exists against them and refused to take a different view despite bail granted to some co-accused earlier.
A Delhi court has refused to grant bail to former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain in the Delhi riots conspiracy case linked to the violence that took place in February 2020. The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Courts, who also rejected the bail pleas of co-accused Salim Malik and Athar Khan.
The court passed the order on January 28 and made it clear that there was no reason to take a different view from the earlier decision of the trial court.
While hearing the bail applications, the court referred to the recent decision of the Supreme Court of India, which had granted bail on January 5 to five other accused in the same case — Shifa-ur-Rehman, Gulfisha Fatima, Salim Khan, Meeran Haider and Shadab Ahmed.
However, the court pointed out that Tahir Hussain, Athar Khan and Salim Malik were already denied bail earlier after a detailed consideration of the merits of their cases. Because of this, the court said it could not change its opinion now.
In Tahir Hussain’s case, Judge Bajpai clearly stated that once the court has already formed a prima facie view that a case exists against the accused, that opinion cannot be reviewed at this stage. The order recorded the court’s reasoning in clear terms.
“Now, despite the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court regarding the co-accused persons, when this Court has once formed the opinion that prima-facie case is made out against the applicant, no other different opinion can be formed now by reviewing the earlier order,” order stated.
The Delhi Police has alleged that Tahir Hussain, Athar Khan, Salim Malik and several others were involved in terror-related activities and had conspired to carry out violence during the 2020 Delhi riots. According to the prosecution, the accused persons played an active role in planning and executing acts of violence that led to large-scale destruction and loss of life.
Based on these allegations, the police have invoked stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the accused. The use of UAPA makes bail difficult, as courts are required to examine whether a prima facie case exists against the accused before granting relief.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court granted bail to five accused persons in the same case. However, the top court refused to extend similar relief to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, holding that a prima facie case was made out against them and that they were not entitled to bail at this stage.
With this latest order, Tahir Hussain and the other co-accused will continue to remain in judicial custody as the trial in the Delhi riots conspiracy case proceeds further.
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