A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah on Wednesday gave a split order on a plea by Tahir Hussain, AIMIM candidate contesting Delhi Assembly polls
from Mustafabad constituency and February 2020 North-East Delhi riot accused, seeking interim bail for campaigning ahead of voting.
Pointing out that the right to contest in elections is not a fundamental right, Justice Pankaj Mithal, heading the bench, refused to grant interim bail to Tahir Hussain stating that it may “open a Pandora’s box.”
On the other hand, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah ordered the release of Hussain on interim bail with certain conditions. Noting that the allegations against Hussain are grave and serious, Justice Amanullah said they remain as only allegations at the present moment.
Justice Mithal said, “In the event interim bails are allowed for contesting elections, it will open a pandora’s box. Since elections in the country are all year round, every undertrial would come with the plea that he wants to participate in elections and therefore be granted interim bail. This would open floodgates, which in my opinion can’t be permitted. Secondly, once such a right is recognised, as a sequel, the petitioner would ask for the right to vote, which is circumscribed by Section 62 of the Representation of Peoples Act.”
Further stating that there are grave allegations against Hussain and that there is a high possibility that he may influence witnesses if he were allowed to be out of jail to canvas for votes, Justice Mithal said, “It may also be worth mentioning that canvassing for 10-15 days would not suffice the purpose in as much as a constituency has to be nurtured for years, for contesting. If the petitioner had not nurtured it for the past few years sitting in jail, there is no reason why he should be released.”
Noting that Hussain has undergone five-year custody, and bail has been granted to him in other cases, Justice Amanullah said that Hussain be released on interim bail till February 4, 2024, subject to the conditions in Section 482 and 484 BNS 2023. Justice Amanullah said that Hussain during the interim bail period should not raise the issues in the FIRs during his campaigning and should surrender by the forenoon of February 4, 2024.
Hussain, a former Aam Aadmi Party councilor, was granted custody parole by the Delhi High Court on January 14 for filing his nomination from Mustafabad constituency.
He has challenged Delhi High Court’s order denying him interim bail to campaign in the upcoming Delhi election.
In the High court, Delhi Police had opposed Hussain’s plea for interim bail citing the gravity of allegations against him and terming him as the main perpetrator in the violence, resulting in the death of several persons.
The High Court had said about 11 FIRs were registered against Hussain in connection with the riots and he was admittedly in custody in a related money laundering case and UAPA case.
Hussain was booked in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.
Violence broke out in North-East Delhi on February 24, 2020, leaving 53 dead and several injured.