Delhi riots conspiracy case: HC seeks police reply on Tahir Hussain’s bail appeal

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the response of Delhi Police on a bail plea filed by former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.The division bench of Justices Neena Bansal Krishna and Madhu Jain issued a notice on the plea and listed the matter for hearing on July 14. Additional solicitor general S V Raju appeared for Delhi Police while senior advocate Rajiv Mohan represented Hussain.Hussain has approached HC challenging a Jan 29 order of the trial court rejecting his bail application. While dismissing the plea, the trial court had observed that a similar request was rejected in 2024 after finding that the allegations against Hussain appeared prima facie true, thereby attracting the bar on grant of bail under UAPA. It had also taken note of the fact that while SC granted bail to five co-accused, it denied relief to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, named key conspirators in the alleged conspiracy behind the riots.In his appeal before HC, Hussain contended he was entitled to bail on the ground of parity. The plea stated that SC had granted bail to five co-accused and that his role was on “a lower footing” compared to those who had already secured release. Hussain further said he had been in custody for more than six years and that there was no likelihood of the trial concluding in the near future, warranting his release on bail.According to the Delhi Police chargesheet, Hussain was part of a larger group involved in organising anti- CAA protests in the capital. Police alleged crates containing glass bottles filled with liquid and stuffed with cloth pieces, purportedly meant for use as Molotov cocktails, along with a large quantity of bricks and stones and three catapults, were recovered from his residence.The 2020 violence, which erupted during protests against the CAA, left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. Hussain, along with others, was booked under stringent provisions of UAPA.