A Delhi court ordered police verification of bail bonds and sureties of four accused granted bail by the Supreme Court in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, delaying their release by a day. The court said the verification will be completed before their release, while the matter is listed for further hearing on January 7.
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday directed the police to verify the documents and sureties submitted by four of the five accused who were granted bail by the Supreme Court in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. Because of this verification process, their release from jail has been delayed by at least one day.
On Monday, the Supreme Court granted bail to activists Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad, while imposing 11 strict conditions. The apex court, however, refused bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.
Following the Supreme Court’s order, the matter came up before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai at a Delhi court.
The judge accepted bail bonds of Rs 2 lakh each along with two local sureties of the same amount submitted by Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman and Mohd Saleem Khan. The court then directed the police to verify all documents and sureties by Wednesday.
The fifth accused, Shadab Ahmad, did not appear before the court to submit his bail bonds.
Although most of the accused had earlier been released on interim bail and had already submitted surety bonds at that time, the court passed a rare order directing fresh verification of the documents. This verification has resulted in a delay in their release by a day.
During the hearing, the lawyer representing Meeran Haider, M N Khan, questioned the need for verification.
He told the court that the person who submitted the surety bond is a relative of his client and lives at the same residence. Despite this submission, the court maintained its direction and listed the matter for further proceedings on January 7.
On Monday, while deciding the bail pleas, the Supreme Court clearly stated that all accused persons in the case do not stand on the same footing. The bench referred to the “hierarchy of participation” and said this was an important factor in deciding who deserved bail.
The Supreme Court bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria observed that there was a prima facie case against Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and therefore refused to grant them bail. At the same time, it allowed bail to the five other accused, considering their alleged role in the case.
While granting bail, the apex court imposed several conditions. Each of the accused was directed to execute a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh with two local sureties of the same amount to the satisfaction of the trial court.
The court also ordered that the accused must remain within the National Capital Territory of Delhi and must not leave its territorial limits without prior permission of the trial court.
The Supreme Court further directed that any request for travel outside Delhi must clearly mention the reasons, and such requests would be considered by the trial court strictly on their merits.
In addition, the accused were ordered to surrender their passports and provide their current residential addresses, contact numbers and e-mail addresses to the investigating officer as well as the trial court.
The lawyers appearing for the accused sought three to four days’ time to submit these details. They informed the court that the mobile phones of the accused had not been functional for a long period and assured that the required information would be furnished once access to their phones is restored.
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Another important condition imposed by the court was that the accused must not directly or indirectly contact, influence or intimidate any witness or any person connected with the case. They were also restrained from associating with or participating in the activities of any group or organisation linked to the present FIR.
Because of the court’s direction for verification of bail documents, the release of the four accused has been temporarily delayed, and the matter will now be taken up again on January 7.
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