A Delhi court on Wednesday issued release orders for four of the five accused granted bail by the Supreme Court in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case, after they fulfilled the bail conditions.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai accepted the bail bonds of ₹2 lakh each, along with two local sureties of the like amount furnished by accused Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, and Mohammad Saleem Khan. The judge thereafter directed their release from custody.
The release came after the Delhi Police submitted verification reports of the bond sureties and other documents filed by the accused, confirming their compliance with all the conditions laid down by the apex court.
The fifth accused, Shadab Ahmad, who was also granted bail by the Supreme Court on January 5, did not appear before the trial court to furnish his bail bonds.
On January 5, the Supreme Court granted bail to five accused — Fatima, Haider, Rehman, Khan, and Ahmad — while rejecting bail to co-accused activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. The bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria observed that not all accused stood on the same legal footing, citing a “hierarchy of participation” in the alleged conspiracy.
The court found a prima facie case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against Khalid and Imam, and therefore denied them bail.
While granting bail to the five others, the top court imposed 11 stringent conditions, including:
- Execution of a personal bond of ₹2 lakh with two local sureties each, to the satisfaction of the trial court.
- Restriction on leaving the territorial limits of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi without prior permission of the trial court.
- Disclosure of reasons in any request for travel outside Delhi, to be decided strictly on merits.
- Surrender of passports.
- Submission of current residential addresses, contact numbers, and email IDs to the investigating officer and the trial court.
- Undertaking not to contact, influence, or intimidate any witness or person connected to the proceedings.
- Prohibition on associating with or participating in any group or organisation linked to the FIR.
The trial court recorded that the respective counsel for the accused had sought three to four days to submit updated contact details, citing non-functional mobile phones due to the accused’s prolonged incarceration. They assured the court that the details would be provided once access was restored.
On Tuesday, Judge Bajpai had directed the Delhi Police to complete the verification process of the documents and sureties submitted by the accused. This led to a day’s delay in the issuance of release orders.
The Supreme Court has clarified that any violation of the bail conditions would entitle the trial court to cancel the bail after hearing the accused.
