Updated: November 21, 2020 9:30:05 pm
Gulfisha is alleged to have participated in and instigated the illegal assembly that committed riots, in which one man was killed. (Express file)
A Delhi court granted bail to an activist student on Saturday Gulfisha Fatima, arrested in a case of riots in northeast Delhi in which an 18-year-old man had died.
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat bail Gulfisha by providing a personal bail of Rs 30,000 with bail of the same amount.
The court noted that there was nothing to suggest that the witnesses in the case were threatened or that she was in danger of absconding. However, he will remain in Tihar jail, where he is currently housed, as he is under judicial custody in a UAPA case investigated by the Special Cell.
Gulfisha has been in custody in this case since June 3. It is presumed that he participated in and instigated the illegal assembly that committed riots in which a man identified as Amaan was killed.
“There is nothing to suggest that the witnesses are threatened by the applicant in question. In any case, two public witnesses are protected and their identity has been withheld. The rest are police personnel, ”the court said.
When police argued that Gulfisha was also under investigation for the larger conspiracy in the UAPA case, the court said: “We will cross the bridge when we get to it.”
“The current stage is of bail and not of acquittal or conviction. Nothing is shown to suggest that the applicant is a flight risk, ”the court said.
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The court also considered the plaintiff’s term of custody and the grounds for parity, as co-defendants Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal have been released on bail.
When the police argued that a co-defendant, Tafsil, had been declared a proclaimed criminal, the court said: “The present applicant cannot be denied bail for the act and conduct of Tafsil, who will face the consequences of the law.”
Gulfisha’s lawyer, Mehmood Pracha, had told the court that she “has been falsely and maliciously implicated in the present case without any evidence.
“No role has been attributed to the applicant, except for vague and unsubstantiated allegations that have no connection to the alleged crime,” argued Pracha.
Rajeev Krishan Sharma, the special prosecutor who appeared on behalf of the state, told the court that Gulfisha was seen in video clips “controlling, abetting and provoking local rioters, as well as managing non-resident rioters.”
“They used code words with the members of their group to convey secret messages regarding the line of their protest / riot in front of the common people. They also gave hate speech in the Jafrabad metro station and stayed there continuously until the end, ”Sharma told the court.
South Carolina judge inaugurates ‘Northeast Delhi Riots Claims Commission’
Supreme Court Justice Surya Kant inaugurated the North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission (NEDRCC) on Saturday for providing compensation to victims of communal violence that took place in February.
“Justice for the victim of the riot is the need of the moment. Victims of riots must be promptly compensated. To achieve this goal, I wish this commission (NEDRCC) all the best, ”Judge Kant said in a statement. PTI
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