HC seeks Delhi Police reply on bail plea of former AAP councillor

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Thursday sought response from Delhi police on bail application moved by former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in a case arising out of the northeast Delhi riots of 2020.

Justice Mukta Gupta issued notice and directed that the bail application be listed before Justice Yogesh Khanna, who is hearing bail applications moved by Hussain in other riots cases, on August 6.

Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, appearing for Hussain, informed the court that apart from the FIR in question in the present case, other FIRs have also been registered against the accused by police station Dayalpur.

"Bail pleas under FIR 91/2020 and 92/2020 had gone to Justice Yogesh Khanna and notice was issued for August 6," Mathur said who appeared along with advocate Rizwan Khan.

He thus urged that this bail application be also tagged along with the pleas already pending before Justice Khanna.

The present FIR pertains to the alleged commission of offences of rioting and destruction of public property by Tahir Hussain in the Dayalpur area.

The other two cases pertain to the injuries suffered by two people on account of a riotous mob pelting stones, throwing petrol bombs and firing gunshots from the terrace of Hussain''s house and allege commission of offences of attempt to murder and rioting, and violation of Arms Act.

Notice in one of two bail applications was issued by Justice Khanna on July 13.

Significantly, Hussain's bail plea in the main UAPA case against him for the riots is also pending in the Delhi High Court, after a lower court had earlier rejected it.

He had approached the high court after the historic bail orders in the case of Asif Tanha, Natasha Narwal and Devangan Kalita — co-accused in the same case.

The high court had ruled in these cases that applying UAPA in such a case was not correct as IPC sections already dealt with provisions for violent protests. But this judgment has now been challenged in the Supreme Court.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 700 injured.