The Supreme Court on Friday refused to alter the bail conditions imposed on 2020 Delhi riots accused Meeran Haider, restraining him from participating in any programme, addressing gatherings, or circulating posters or banners in any form.
The court observed that the judgment “consciously” kept the condition broad rather than restricting it to the case at hand.
Agarwal referred specifically to two conditions. The relief he got pertained to the condition requiring him to appear every Monday and Thursday at the police station. He instead requested the court to make it on a weekend.
However, the bench modified one condition from the January 5 judgment relating to physical attendance before the concerned police station twice a week. The bench allowed him to appear once a week before the Crime Branch police station of the Delhi Police on Saturday and exempted him on two Saturdays falling on October 17 and 24, considering the special circumstance of his marriage in the week beginning October 17. The trial in the 2020 Delhi riots case is continuing, with the police having invoked offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the accused.
Agarwal informed the court that his client seeks employment and weekdays will not be possible due to working hours.
A bench of justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi said, “We will not relax any condition except one,” after Haider’s lawyer, senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal, requested the court to consider relaxing three other conditions besides the one the court agreed to. One said, “The appellants shall not participate in any programme or address or attend any gathering, rally or meeting, whether physically or virtually till conclusion of the trial.
He requested the court to confine these conditions to the present case. We are very clear we will not restrict it. To that extent, the application moved by Haider was dismissed.
The bench shot down the suggestion and said, “It has to be much wider. Consciously we have not said ‘in this case’.
