6-day custody parole given by SC to Tahir Hussain to campaign for Delhi polls

New Delhi: Tahir Hussain, a former AAP councillor and accused in the February 2020 riots, was given six days of jail parole on Tuesday by the Supreme Court to campaign for the Delhi assembly elections on an AIMIM ticket.

Custody parole comprises an armed police officer accompanying a prisoner to his or her visitation location.

A full bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta allowed Hussain's plea to campaign in police custody from January 29 to February 3.

The court said he would only be allowed to leave jail along with security for 12 hours, according to the jail manual.

The top court said the former councillor could walk out of jail at around 6 am and return by 6 pm.

The bench said Hussain's custody parole would be subject to the deposit of Rs 2.47 lakh per day as part of security expenses, including the police escort.

Hussain, said the court, should not visit his Karawal Nagar home, an alleged site of the riots, while restraining him from making any public comments over the case's merits.

It clarified the order will not be treated as a precedent as it was passed in the "peculiar facts and circumstances" of the case.

The court said Hussain's bail application in the Delhi High Court should be decided on its own merits without being influenced by the bench's order.

Senior advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, appearing for Hussain, argued only four-five days were left to campaign.

Aggarwal said his client was contesting from the Mustafabad seat and he won't visit his house and stay at a hotel aside from sharing the details.

Additional solicitor general S V Raju opposed the plea, saying his role in the riots was serious. If granted the relief, said Raju, everybody would fill nominations in jail.

The court asked Raju to seek instructions on the expenses and security that would be required and told Aggarwal to inform the undertakings Hussain proposed to give.

The order was passed on Hussain's plea to allow him to campaign in custody for the upcoming Delhi assembly polls.

The former councillor failed to secure interim bail on January 22, after a two-judge bench of the apex court gave a split verdict.

The Delhi High Court granted custody parole to Hussain on January 14 to file his nomination papers from the Mustafabad constituency.

It, however, declined his plea for interim bail from January 14 to February 9 to contest the February 5 election, saying the gravity of the allegations against Hussain, being the main perpetrator in the violence that resulted in the death of several people, could not be overlooked.

The high court said 11 FIRs were lodged against Hussain in connection with the riots and he was admittedly in custody in a related money-laundering case and a case registered under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Violence broke out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, leaving 53 people dead and several injured.

Hussain is an accused in a case connected to the death of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma.

According to the prosecution, on February 26, 2020, complainant Ravinder Kumar informed the Dayalpur police station that his son Sharma had been missing since the previous day.

His body was reportedly found in the Khajuri Khas nullah in the riot-affected area and it bore 51 injuries.

On January 22, an apex court bench comprising Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah delivered a split verdict on Hussain's plea.

While Justice Mithal dismissed Hussain's plea saying no case was made out, Justice Amanullah opined that he could be released on interim bail.

The judges asked the top court registry to place the matter before Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna for a new bench to decide the issue.

With PTI inputs