New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a bail plea filed by Shahrukh Pathan, who had allegedly opened fire at a policeman in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.
A single-judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma was dealing with Pathan’s plea seeking bail on the ground of delay in the conclusion of the trial.
Earlier, a court here had dismissed the bail application of Shahrukh Pathan, who was nabbed from Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district after he was caught on camera waving a gun at unarmed Delhi Police head constable Deepak Dahiya during the tensions in February 2020.
The trial court said that the right to protest is a fundamental right in a democracy, but this right of peaceful protest and open criticism of government policies does not extend to disturbing public order.
An FIR was registered against Shahrukh Pathan on the statement of head constable Deepak Dahiya, who he had pointed the gun at.
As per his statement, he was present at a road in Jafrabad, under the metro line, where many people had gathered illegally, and were raising slogans against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The members of the unlawful assembly had stones, bottles and pistols in their hands and started pelting stones on them. In the meantime, one person, carrying a pistol, ran towards him and fired 3-4 shots on the people around.
When the accused was at a distance of around 9-10 feet from the complainant, he aimed the pistol at his head and fired with an intention to kill him. The complainant bent his head and somehow saved himself, the statement said.
Shahrukh Pathan was booked for offences such as attempt to murder, criminal force to deter public servant, and possession of a dangerous weapon. Later, charges for rioting and unlawful assembly were also added to the case.
A 350-page charge sheet was filed in Karkardooma Court against Shahrukh Pathan, Kaleem Ahmad and one Ishtiyak Mallik.
Kaleem Ahmad had given him shelter, while Ishtiyak Mallik’s location history revealed his presence at the spot during the riots.
A 7.65 mm pistol and two live rounds were recovered from Shahrukh Pathan by the police pursuant to the commission of crime.
(IANS)
