‘Can’t incarcerate for protest’: HC grants bail to 5 in Delhi riots case

New Delhi, September 3

Right to protest and express dissent occupies a fundamental stature in a democratic polity and, therefore, the sole act of protesting should not be employed as a weapon to justify incarceration of those exercising it, said the Delhi High Court on Friday while granting bail to five accused, including a woman, in a north-east Delhi riots case.

The HC said it was the constitutional duty of the court to ensure that there was no arbitrary deprivation of personal liberty in the face of excess state power. Justice Subramonium Prasad, in five separate verdicts, granted bail to accused Mohd Arif, Shadab Ahmad, Furkan, Suvaleen and Tabassum, who are facing prosecution for the murder of Delhi Police head constable Ratan Lal during the north-east Delhi riots in 2020.

‘Bail is the rule’

The court must hesitate before arriving at a conclusion that every member of unlawful assembly inhabits a common intention to accomplish the unlawful common object… Bail is the rule and jail is the exception. Justice Subramonium Prasad, Delhi HC

The HC said while definitiveness and veracity of the statements of public witnesses and police officials was not to be delved into at this juncture and was a matter of trial, the court was of the opinion that the same was not sufficient to justify continued incarceration.

The court said the issue that arose for consideration was whether when an offence of murder was committed by an unlawful assembly, should each person in that assembly be denied the benefit of bail, regardless of their role. It said, “When there is a crowd involved, at the juncture of grant or denial of bail, the court must hesitate before arriving at the conclusion that every member of the unlawful assembly inhabits a common intention to accomplish the unlawful common object.” — PTI

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