'Should Be Barred From Contesting': SC On Tahir Hussain's Interim Bail Plea For Campaigning In Delhi Polls

Tahir Hussain, who is an accused in the 2020 Delhi riots, is contesting as an AIMIM candidate from the Mustafabad seat in the Delhi Assembly Elections. The court has listed the matter for Tuesday.

File photo of Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain.

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The Supreme Court on Monday made a strong objection on the interim bail plea filed by AIMIM candidate and Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain by saying "such persons should be barred from contesting."

"It is easy to win elections sitting in jail. Actually, all these persons should be debarred," Supreme Court Judge J Pankaj Mithal said while hearing the plea of Tahir Hussain, who sought interim bail to campaign for Delhi Assembly Elections, according to LiveLaw.

A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah adjourned the hearing due to paucity of time and deferred to January 21. 

Tahir Hussain, who is an accused in the 2020 Delhi riots, is contesting as an AIMIM candidate from the Mustafabad constituency. The court has listed the matter for Tuesday.

The former AAP councillor had moved the Supreme Court seeking interim bail from January 20 to February 5 to campaign for the Delhi Assembly polls.

On January 24, the Delhi High Court had granted custody parole to Tahir Hussain to file his nomination papers from the Mustafabad constituency. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna had refused his plea for interim bail from January 14 till February 9 to fight the polls, saying that the gravity of allegations against Hussain, that he was the main perpetrator in the violence which resulted in the death of several persons, could not be overlooked.

The high court stated that as many as 11 FIRs were registered against him in connection with the riots and he was admittedly in custody in a related money laundering case and UAPA case. 

Hussain, in the bail plea, said he spent 4.9 years in jail and though the trial started in the case, only 20 of the 114 prosecution witnesses were examined so far.

Pleading that he had suffered a long incarceration, he said the fact that several witnesses were still left to be examined meant the trial wouldn't be over soon.

Violence broke out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, leaving 53 dead and several injured. According to the prosecution, on February 26, 2020, complainant Ravinder Kumar informed the Dayalpur Police Station that his son Ankit Sharma,  posted in the Intelligence Bureau, was missing since February 25, 2020. Sharma's mortal remains were reportedly recovered from Khajuri Khas nullah in the riot-affected area and his body bore 51 injuries.