Delhi poll campaign: SC delivers split verdict on riots accused Tahir Hussain's interim bail plea

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday delivered a split verdict on a plea by former councillor and Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain, who sought interim bail to campaign for the upcoming assembly elections.

The two-judge bench, comprising Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, expressed differing opinions. Justice Mithal dismissed the plea, citing a lack of sufficient grounds, while Justice Amanullah said that Hussain could be granted interim bail.

The impasse has led to the matter being referred to Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who will now constitute a new bench to resolve the issue.

Hussain is a key accused in the February 2020 Delhi riots that claimed 53 lives and left several injured in northeast Delhi. Among the many cases against him, one relates to the death of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma.

According to the prosecution, Sharma’s father, Ravinder Kumar, reported him missing on February 25, 2020. Sharma’s body was later found in a drain in the riot-affected Khajuri Khas area, bearing 51 injuries.

The former councillor has been in custody since March 2020 and faces 11 cases linked to the riots, including a money laundering case. Recently, the Karkardooma Court granted him custody parole to file his nomination for the assembly elections.

Hussain’s legal team argued before the high court that he has already spent more than three years in custody, serving half of the sentence in the money laundering case. However, the Delhi Police opposed his plea, stating that contesting elections is not a fundamental right and emphasizing the gravity of the allegations against him. The police also labeled Hussain a threat to society.