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

New Delhi: Former councilor and February 2020 Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain was granted custody parole by the Supreme Court on Tuesday to campaign in custody for the upcoming Delhi assembly polls.

Senior advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, appearing for Hussain, told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta that only four days are left for campaigning so he be allowed to connect with the electorate under police custody.

"The place where my house is alleged to have been where Delhi riots took place. I am fighting for Mustafabad seat and even for staying purposes, I am saying I will not go to the house and will stay in a hotel and provide details," Aggarwal said.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju opposed the prayer, saying his role is serious. He said if granted the relief, everybody would fill out a nomination form in jail.

Hussain failed to secure interim bail on January 22, after a two-judge bench of the apex court gave a split verdict.

The order stated that Hussain's lawyer, Aggarwal, submitted that he was confining his petition to seek release on custody parole from tomorrow, January 29, 2025, until February 3, 2025. He further submitted that the petitioner would bear all expenses and make an advance deposit for two days at a time.

He would arrange for accommodation at Crowne Plaza. He submitted that the petitioner be permitted to visit the party office and attend meetings.

He further submitted that the petitioner would not visit his original residence. The petitioner would also refrain from making any comments in his address to any press conference regarding the case(s). He would be responsible for all lodging expenses of the deployed officers.

ASG Raju strongly opposed the prayer for release on custody parole. However, upon instructions, he stated that the total daily expenditure of staff deployed with the petitioner, along with the expenses of the jail van and escort vehicle, would amount to approximately Rs. 4 lakh per day.

He further submitted that the petitioner may not be released for the entire period but may be allowed to leave the jail and return according to the jail's timings. Considering the submissions and the peculiar facts and circumstances, we issue the following directions:

The petitioner will abide by all undertakings. The petitioner will be released according to the timings specified in the jail manual from January 29, 2025, to February 3, 2025, upon the deposit of expenses amounting to half of what is indicated in the chart, which is Rs. 2,07,429 for two days before expiry.

He will deposit for the next two days and then for the remaining days. ASG Raju will communicate to Aggarwal where the amount can be deposited. The amount shall be accepted by the concerned authority without any objection today itself. The amount must be tendered before 6 PM.

Release will be for 12 hours as per jail rules.

The Supreme Court remarked that this order should not be treated as a precedent. The bail application before the High Court shall be considered on its own merits, uninfluenced by the orders of this court.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court granted custody parole to Hussain on January 14 to file his nomination papers from the Mustafabad constituency on an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) ticket.

Violence broke out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, leaving 53 people dead and several injured.

Hussain is an accused in a case connected to the death of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma.

According to the prosecution, on February 26, 2020, complainant Ravinder Kumar informed the Dayalpur police station that his son, Ankit Sharma, had been missing since the previous day.

Sharma's body was reportedly found in the Khajuri Khas nullah in the riot-affected area and it bore 51 injuries.