Jamia student Asif Tanha's bail plea dismissed in UAPA case

new delhi: The bail plea of Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha in the north-east Delhi riots case, where he is accused under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA, has been dismissed by a court here, which cited that while the entirety of evidence against Tanha has not yet been seen by it, witness statements point towards his role in organising a 'chakka jam', which had purportedly led to the riots in February.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat said the statements of the protected witnesses in the case reflected the role of many accused persons including Tanha regarding the protest sites and how everything was being planned.

The statements clearly point out the role of the accused Asif lqbal Tanha as also other co-accused persons and various actions taken by them in pursuance of the conspiracy. He was part of a conspiracy for doing chakka-jam leading to the riots. His name comes out in the statements of the witnesses as one of the main coordinators in the entire conspiracy, the court said in its order passed on September 2.

The order, however, said the details of the statements of these witnesses are not spelt-out in detail as the case was at the stage of investigation. The 24-year old student was arrested on May 19 and is in judicial custody since May 27.

"Their merits or credibility can't be gone into at the present stage. Considering the statement of such witnesses regarding the role of the accused Asif Iqbal Tanha and other accused persons whose conduct is also highlighted by various statements, I have no hesitation to hold that there are reasonable grounds for believing that accusation against accused (Tanha) are prima facie true...," the judge said in his order.

"The statements and evidence will have to be read in entirety since it is a case of conspiracy. Moreover, the assertion that the accused himself physically and directly did not resort to violence as understood in common parlance would not be germane in the context of various acts committed by different individuals including accused in the conspiracy of riots," it said.

During the hearing, advocate Siddharth Aggarwal and Sowjhanya Shankaran, appearing for Tanha, said he has been falsely implicated in the case. Umar Khalid has been mentioned in the case but he has not been arrested yet, Aggarwal said.

He further argued that invoking UAPA against Tanha was bad in law as there was no unlawful association or terrorist organization with which he was associated.

Tanha was not a member of the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) WhatsApp group till February 24, and therefore, the messages on February 23 regarding the alleged planning of riots were not relevant to him, Aggarwal claimed. There has been no recovery of a money trail and no payment has been ascribed to him from any objectionable source, the lawyer said.

He further claimed that Tanha had no connection with the Bhim Army and his premises were not searched and there was no evidence collected against him. No incriminating material or arms or ammunition was recovered from him, Aggarwal claimed.