New Delhi: A court here on Saturday rejected the regular bail plea of former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, saying the allegations against him were “prima facie true.”
Noting the evidence before it, the court also observed that Hussain allegedly funded the riots and participated in other activities resulting in the riots.
The court said it was too early to conclude that the charges against him were not a terrorist act, thus not attracting the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention (UAPA) Act.
“After hearing the public prosecutor and after perusing the final report or the case diary, the court arrives at a conclusion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusations (against Hussain) are prima facie true,” Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai said.
Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad had cited a 2023 verdict of the Supreme Court, as per which, under the UAPA provision rejection of bail is a rule and allowing the bail is an exception.
The court said, “Definition of a terrorist act as provided under Section 15 of the UAPA clearly shows that even if some inflammable substance, firearms, lethal weapons are used which is likely to cause death or injury to any person or causes loss, damage or destruction to any property, such act would fall in the definition.”
So, in the present case, the allegations against Hussain were such that “his acts may fall in the definition of a terrorist act”, the court said, adding, “at this stage, it cannot be said that the provisions of UAPA as mentioned in the chargesheet are not applicable”.