Court grants 5 days custody parole to 2020 riots accused Shafa ur Rehman

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday granted five days custody parole to February 2020 riots accused Shafa ur Rehman to contest and campaign for the upcoming state assembly elections.

Custody parole entails a prisoner being escorted by armed police personnel to the place of visit.

Additional sessions judge Sameer Bajpai was hearing Rehman’s interim bail plea for four weeks. The plea said Rehman, contesting on an AIMIM ticket, was required to canvas for the upcoming elections.

Special public prosecutor Amit Prasad argued canvassing for elections was an unreasonable ground for granting the relief and Rehman could be released only on custody parole.

The court observed the Supreme Court on January 28 granted six-day custody parole to former AAP councillor and co-accused Tahir Hussain to campaign for polls.

"Although the present case and the case in which the co-accused Mohammad Tahir Hussain has been granted custody parole by the Supreme Court are altogether different, still when the Supreme Court has declined the interim bail of the co-accused and only granted custody parole to him, this court should also follow the same," the court said.

Rehman was directed to be released under police protection from January 30 to February 5 for 12 hours, each day, upon the deposition of Rs 2.07 lakh towards security expenses.

The court, however, barred Rehamn from commenting on his pending cases during his speeches or at press conferences.

It allowed Rehman to stay in his Jamia Nagar home, visit the party office, attend meetings, sign documents and meet his campaign managers and advocates.

The court directed the jail superintendent and the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) concerned to provide the "exact amount" for meeting the expenses of his custody parole for five days.

The Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) announced Rehman as its candidate for the Okhla constituency in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections.

Rehman and several others were booked under the stringent UAPA provisions aside from IPC for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the "larger conspiracy" behind the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.