New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing till January 22 on a plea filed by Tahir Hussain seeking interim bail for campaigning ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections.
The Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has fielded former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Councillor Tahir Hussain as a candidate from the Mustafabad constituency.
A Bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah sought Delhi Police’s response observing that Tahir Hussain’s incarceration of over four years on the charge of being an instigator during the 2020 riots in the national Capital would entitle him to regular bail.
“Suppose we are satisfied on merit that a ground is made for considering regular bail, why should we not grant him? We can’t shut our eyes to that,” the Justice Mithal-led Bench told the Delhi Police.
Ultimately, the apex court posted the matter for hearing on January 22, saying that “time for interim bail is expiring” and counsel for the Delhi Police will have to come prepared.
In no immediate relief to Tahir Hussain, the top court on Monday adjourned hearing on his petition seeking interim bail.
The Justice Mithal-led Bench could not take up Tahir Hussain’s Special Leave Petition for hearing due to paucity of time but listed the matter for hearing on January 21.
When mentioned for urgent hearing, the apex court remarked: “It is easy to win elections sitting in jail. All such persons should be barred from contesting elections.”
Last week, the Delhi High Court 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.
As per the order of the Delhi High Court, Tahir Hussain, while out on custody parole, will not have any access to the phone or Internet, will not interact with any person except the officials concerned in the nomination process, and will not address the media.
Further, family members of Tahir Hussain may remain present, but they would not be permitted to click photographs of the filing of the nomination or to post the same on social media, the court order had said.
Disposing Tahir Hussain’s plea for interim bail, a Bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna ruled, “Merely because the applicant/petitioner had earlier been a Municipal Councillor, cannot be a peculiar circumstance entitling him to grant of Interim Bail.
“Considering the antecedents, nature of allegations and having regard to the totality of circumstances, he (Tahir Hussain) is granted Custody Parole for subscribing the oath and to complete the formalities in respect of filing his Nomination Papers.”
On January 14, the Justice Krishna-led Bench reserved its decision after hearing the arguments raised by senior advocate Rebecca John, representing the former Councillor, and Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, who appeared on behalf of Delhi Police.
Opposing Hussain’s interim bail plea, ASG Sharma said that 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.
“We are conceding that custody parole be granted to facilitate him to file nominations. Like others he can also contest,” he said, referring to Tahir Hussain’s involvement in several criminal cases, including under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act).
On the other hand, senior advocate John pleaded that Tahir Hussain be released on interim bail, from January 16 to February 9, for filing nominations and for the election campaign. John repeatedly laid emphasis that Tahir Hussain be temporarily released for campaigning.
Tahir Hussain’s counsel argued that the former AAP Councillor should be released on interim bail since he needed to file nomination papers physically and give a true account of his assets.
The counsel cited the interim bail granted to Jammu and Kashmir leader Engineer Rashid, accused in a terror funding case being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), for election-related purposes.
