SC Delays Hearing on Tahir Hussain’s Plea for Bail to Campaign in Delhi Polls

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 20th Jan. The Supreme Court, while deferring the hearing on former councillor and Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain’s plea for interim bail to January 21, raised concerns about individuals in custody contesting elections. A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah remarked that such persons should be barred from contesting elections, especially when it is “easy to win elections sitting in jail.”

The bench adjourned the hearing due to a lack of time but allowed Hussain’s lawyer to mention the matter, leading to a fresh hearing scheduled for January 21. Hussain, who is accused of playing a key role in the 2020 Delhi riots, had his nomination for the upcoming Delhi assembly polls from the Mustafabad constituency accepted, though his plea for interim bail from January 14 to February 9 to campaign was earlier rejected by the Delhi High Court.

The High Court had granted Hussain custody parole to file his nomination papers, but denied his request for bail, citing the severity of charges against him. Hussain, who faces over 11 FIRs related to the riots and is also in custody for money laundering and UAPA cases, was accused of being a main conspirator in the violence that led to 53 deaths.

The Senior Counsel representing Hussain argued that contesting elections required various formalities, including opening a bank account and campaigning, which Hussain could not perform from jail. However, the police contended that Hussain, accused of being the “main conspirator” and “funder” of the riots, should not be allowed to fight the polls on parole.

Hussain’s plea mentioned his long incarceration of over 4.9 years, with only 20 of 114 prosecution witnesses examined so far. He argued that the trial was unlikely to conclude soon, despite the fact that some co-accused had been granted bail.