Today, On 28th January, Tahir Hussain requested the Supreme Court to grant custody parole in his remaining cases, allowing him to campaign for the upcoming elections. He proposed staying in a hotel room instead of his home to address concerns about influencing witnesses. Hussain’s plea aims to ensure his participation in the electoral process while maintaining transparency. The court’s decision on this matter is pending.
New Delhi: Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain requested the Supreme Court’s three-judge Bench on Tuesday to consider granting him custody parole in all pending cases where he has not yet secured bail.
He aims to campaign as a candidate for the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
The Bench, comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta, is reviewing the matter after a Division Bench couldn’t reach a consensus on granting Hussain interim bail.
Today, the Court instructed the Delhi government to provide guidance on whether custody parole could be granted to Hussain in all pending cases.
Additionally, the Court directed Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju to estimate the security personnel and costs required if such relief were to be granted.
The Court stated,
“Come back with instructions, what will be security, what will be approximate expenses,”
Hussain previously sought interim bail concerning one of the Delhi riots cases against him, specifically linked to the death of an Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer. In his application, he noted that he had already been granted bail in other similar cases related to the riots.
However, the Court pointed out today that even if interim bail were granted for the remaining case, Hussain would still face two additional cases, including a money laundering charge, for which he has not yet secured bail.
The Court remarked,
“Even if we grant interim bail, how do you come out in respect of cases you have not been granted bail? It is a fact your prayer is with respect to one particular FIR… It is a non-starter,”
Hussain’s counsel, Senior Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, proposed a solution to address these concerns and those of the Delhi government regarding potential witness intimidation if interim bail were granted. He suggested that Hussain be given custody parole in all cases where he has not yet secured bail, allowing him to engage with voters while remaining under custody.
The Court questioned whether this would expand the scope of Hussain’s request. Aggarwal contended that this would actually narrow his request from seeking interim bail to seeking custody parole.
He argued,
“I am submitting from a practical standpoint. It is a balancing act. I am allowed as much play as possible. It is for that reason, I have curtailed my relief,”
Aggarwal also mentioned that his client is willing to stay in a hotel rather than his residence to mitigate concerns about influencing witnesses.
However, ASG SV Raju strongly opposed the request.
Raju stated,
“It is not as simple as he says… (His residence) was the epicenter… from the terrace of his house, missiles were thrown. In this case, an IB officer has died,”
He argued that granting custody parole would set a dangerous precedent, allowing more prisoners to seek similar relief to contest elections.
Raju added,
“This would set a wrong precedent… He will go out of jail with a bodyguard and come back with a bodyguard,”
The Court responded,
“We are not laying down any law; he sought a larger relief, now he is seeking limited relief. Canvassing will stop on February 3rd at midnight. He will come back on the 4th.”
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Raju then requested a deferral of the hearing until tomorrow to gather further instructions.
As a result, the matter has been scheduled for a hearing on January 29 in the afternoon.
Previously, a Division Bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah delivered a split verdict regarding Hussain’s interim bail request. Justice Mithal denied the plea, while Justice Amanullah favored granting interim bail.
Hussain is an accused in the case concerning the death of IB officer Ankit Sharma, who was killed during the February 2020 riots in Delhi. He has been in judicial custody since March 16, 2020, and initially sought interim bail from the Delhi High Court, which denied his request but granted custody parole in the case of the IB officer’s death.