We can put Tanha in a guest house with enough security for exams: Police oppose interim bail

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Wednesday suggested in the Delhi High Court that Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) student activist Asif Iqbal Tanha, arrested in a north-east Delhi riots-related case, be kept in a guest house for the three days needed for his MA Persian (Hons) examinations, for which a trial court had ordered custody parole.

Tanha's counsel, Advocate Sowjhanya Shankaran submitted that in custody parole, her client's entire day will be wasted and he will not be able to study and sought interim bail for the exams between December 4 and December 7.

Opposing this plea, the police argued before Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri that a guest house with adequate security would be something they would be agreeable to. Justice Ohri asked Delhi Police to apprise it today (Thursday) on the issue of arranging a guest house for Tanha near the exam centre.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju argued that the accused had been studying in jail and there was no complaint of a lack of reading material in prison. He added that Tanha would not have sought to appear in the examinations unless he was prepared.

The ASG said there are a large number of prisoners who also study in jail.

He, however, suggested that the accused can be put in a guest house near the exam centre for four days and it will be guarded by security

officials.

Tanha's counsel, however, submitted that the accused was ready to give an undertaking to surrender immediately after the exams and that he would not seek the benefit of the full court's COVID-19 orders in which interim reliefs were granted to prisoners and regularly extended.

Besides granting custody parole, the trial court had also directed the Jail Superintendent to provide necessary assistance in terms of the teaching material for the examinations of the accused.

It had said that clearing the exams was necessary for Tanha to pursue MA in Persian, and that leniency must be shown to the accused by allowing him to appear for the said exams.