Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikramjeet Banerjee, appearing for Delhi Police in Supreme Court said that one of the February 2020 riot accused got bail because the prosecutor withheld information about the case before the High Court.
As per the reports, the additional public prosecutor of the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi Government was well aware that the central government had appointed special counsel to deal with the Delhi riots cases. However, he deliberately did not communicate this to the investigating agency when the bail plea for the accused Iliyas came up for hearing.
Challenging 25 August 2020 bail order, the ASG said that the additional public prosecutor did not communicate it to the police officials attached with the High Court and instead made a wrong statement that he had informed a deputy commissioner of police about it. The High Court also gave bail to the accused without issuing notice to the special prosecutor.
In the petition, Delhi Police has alleged that the city government’s prosecutor “withheld” the information from the investigating agency. He even appeared in the matter without authorisation and “made statements which led to a propitious order for the accused in question,” the petition says.
As per Delhi Police, this is not an isolated incident and same prosecutor has been acting in this manner in other cases too where he had not informed either the special prosecutor or the police officials present in the High Court.
Banerjee further submitted personal affidavits of two police personnel which stated that they were not informed about Iliyas’ bail hearing. Iliyas has been booked under charges of attempted murder, rioting and arson in an FIR lodged at Dayal Pur police station.
Referring to the High Court order as ‘strange’, the ASG said that it failed to take into account the charge sheet filed against Iliyas and the presence of several pieces incriminating evidence against him.
The Supreme Court bench, however, told the ASG that the correct course for Delhi Police would be to persuade Delhi High Court to review its decision.
2020 Delhi riots
In February 2020, the national capital was gripped with riots after the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh and other parts of Delhi turned violent. Delhi Police is currently investigating role of AAP leader Tahir Hussain and others for their alleged involvement in the riots. He is charge sheeted in the brutal murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) employee Ankit Sharma and also inciting riots in the Delhi.
