Activist Jafar, Darapuri, 16 others get bail

Lucknow, January 4

Additional District Judge (ADJ) Sanjay Shankar Pandey on Saturday granted bail to social activist Sadaf Jafar, retired IPS officer SR Darapuri and 16 others after the police failed to produce direct evidence of their involvement in the December 19 violence and arson during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests.

On Friday, the court had reserved order on their bail petitions. Granting them bail on Saturday evening, the court directed them to submit sureties of Rs 50,000 each.

Hearing the case after the winter vacation, the ADJ had on Friday pulled up the government counsel as he was not able to prove the legitimacy of slapping Section 307, IPC, against the petitioners.

On the other hand, the habeas corpus petition filed for senior advocate Mohammad Shoib would come up again for hearing before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.

A Division Bench of Justice Shabihul Hasnain and Justice Virendra Tyagi, which heard the case on Friday, would further take it up for hearing on Monday. — TNS