SC grants custody parole to Tahir Hussain for campaigning in Delhi polls

New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted custody parole to the 2020 Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain to campaign ahead of the February 5 Assembly polls in the national capital.

Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has fielded Hussain as a candidate from the Mustafabad constituency.

A bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath ordered that Tahir Hussain walk out of jail for 12 hours every day under police custody from January 29 to February 3.

The Bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta, recorded the undertaking given on Tahir Hussain’s behalf that he may deposit the expenses incurred towards his security arrangements. The expenses for the first two days of police custody need to be paid by 6 p.m. Tuesday, said the apex court.

Further, it restrained Tahir Hussain from making any public comments regarding the merits of the cases pending against him.

Justice Nath-led bench clarified that its order granting custody parole will have no bearing on the merits of the bail application pending adjudication before the Delhi High Court in connection with Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma's murder case.

Earlier in the day, the top court asked the Delhi Police to apprise it of the security measures that would be needed if Tahir Hussain is allowed to campaign under custody parole. It told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, appearing for the Delhi Police, to give an estimate of how much security personnel would be required if Tahir Hussain is given custody parole and the expenses it would entail.

Senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal, appearing on Tahir Hussain’s behalf, stated that he was restricting his prayer to grant custody parole in view of the limited time of 3-4 days left for campaigning.

Agarwal said that Tahir Hussain is willing to stay away from his residence and will stay in a hotel room and provide details. Opposing this, ASG Raju said that granting relief to Tahir Hussain would set a “wrong precedent” as every prisoner would then file a nomination to contest elections to walk out of jail.

After the Justice Nath-led Bench sought to know the details of security arrangements and costs if Tahir Hussain is granted custody parole, the law officer sought an adjournment to seek instructions.

Last week, a 2-judge Bench of the top court delivered a split verdict on Tahir Hussain’s petition. While Justice Pankaj Mithal dismissed his plea, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah was inclined to order Tahir Hussain’s release on interim bail in view of his incarceration of over four years on the charge of being an instigator during the 2020 riots in the national capital. Resultantly, the 2-judge Bench ordered the file to be placed before the Chief Justice of India, who is the master of the roster, for referring the matter to another bench.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had turned down Tahir Hussain's plea for interim bail but granted him parole to enable him to file nomination papers for the upcoming Assembly polls. Following the order of the Delhi High Court, Hussain, while out on custody parole, did not have any access to the phone or Internet, did not interact with any person except the officials concerned in the nomination process, and also could not address the media.

On January 14, the Justice Neena Bansal Krishna-led Bench reserved its decision after hearing the arguments raised by senior advocate Rebecca John, representing the former Councillor, and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, who appeared on behalf of Delhi Police. Opposing Hussain's interim bail plea, ASG Sharma said the AIMIM candidate, facing "gruesome allegations", may file his nomination papers from Tihar jail or under custody parole. Sharma added that there is no fundamental right to contest elections and if released on interim bail, Hussain may influence witnesses.