NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted bail to three men accused of killing Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma during the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi, emphasising that bail is the rule while jail is the exception during trial.
The court allowed bail for Shoaib Alam, Gulfam, and Javed, noting that they had already been in custody for four years, and the trial was unlikely to conclude soon.
Justice Navin Chawla stated that while a lengthy incarceration alone isn’t sufficient reason to grant bail in cases involving death or life imprisonment, it must be balanced against the prosecution’s interests and the rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The court noted that the purpose of keeping someone in jail during trial is to ensure they face the legal process, don’t abscond, and are available to serve their sentence if found guilty, rather than to punish them before conviction.
However, the court denied bail to a fourth accused, Nazim, stating that important public witnesses had yet to be examined and that if released, Nazim might influence or threaten them. The court cited Nazim’s record as a “bad character” at the Dayalpur police station with 12 FIRs against him as another reason for refusing bail.
On February 26, 2020, Ravinder Kumar informed the Dayalpur police station that his son, Ankit Sharma, posted in the IB, had been missing since the previous day.
He later learned that a body had been found in the Khajuri Khas nala, believed to have been thrown from the masjid of Chand Bagh pulia.
Ankit Sharma’s body, retrieved from the nala, bore 51 injuries. The prosecution alleged that the four accused were part of a violent mob involved in the killing of Sharma, as well as in rioting and arson. Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain is also among those accused in the case.
The communal riots in northeast Delhi began on February 24, 2020, following violent clashes between supporters and opponents of the
citizenship law, resulting in at least 53 deaths and many injuries.