On Saturday, September 2, former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain was granted bail in one of the cases (FIR 88 of 2020 registered at Dalaypur PS) filed against him pertaining to the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi riots. However, Hussain will continue to be in judicial custody in other FIRs registered against him which include the case filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for attempting to commit a large conspiracy during the anti-Hindu Delhi riots.
Delhi Court grants bail to former Aam Aadmi Party Councillor Tahir Hussain in a Delhi riots case [FIR 88 of 2020 registered at Dayalpur police station]
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) September 2, 2023
He was recently granted bail by Delhi High Court in five riots cases.#DelhiRiots #TahirHussain pic.twitter.com/TTP6pOqoDi
While granting bail, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Pulastya Pramachala directed Hussain to pay a personal bond of Rs 1,00,000 each with one surety of the same amount. He was directed not to leave India without the court’s permission.
The FIR pertains to the brutal murder of a Hindu victim identified as Ajay Goswami Gautam. Goswami was shot on February 25, 2020, in the Khajuri Khas area during the anti-Hindu Delhi riots. Delhi Police had booked Hussain for offences of attempt to murder, rioting and criminal conspiracy under Sections 307, 120B, and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Muslim rioters, mainly Tanvir and Gulfam, had opened fire from the terrace of Tahir Hussain’s building on the 25th of February 2020. The firing was done against Hindus and in the process, Ajay Goswami was killed.
Notably, in July this year, Hussain was granted bail in 5 cases registered against him concerning the anti-Hindu Delhi riots. A total of 11 FIRs have been registered against the riots accused.
The Delhi’s Karkardooma Court said that the incident linked to which the first information report (FIR) was registered occurred at a time and place that was proximate to two other incidents in which Hussain was already granted bail by the Delhi HC on 12th July this year.
“In that situation, even though a bail order may not be a precedent for another case, in the aforesaid peculiar situation, bail granted to the applicant by a court higher in hierarchy to this court, does create a material change in the circumstances in favour of the applicant,” said the Court in its order on 2nd September.
The court also noticed that many witnesses are common in all the FIRs and the High Court had appreciated the merits in the previous two cases while granting bail to Hussain. “In that situation for this court, there may not be a reason to take a different view. This material change in the circumstance in itself becomes a ground to grant bail to the accused/applicant in this case as well. Hence, the application is allowed.”
Notably, in March this year, a Delhi court framed murder and conspiracy charges against Tahir Hussain for the murder of Intelligence Bureau official Ankit Sharma during the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi riots, the ex-AAP councillor was, however, granted bail on Wednesday (July 12) by the Delhi High Court.
Role of Tahir Hussain in the Delhi Riots
OpIndia had earlier reported how Tahir Hussain confessed in a disclosure statement that he chose his house as a launchpad for the riots. Given that his house was a high-rise building and was under construction at that time, it was easy to collect stones and bricks without raising any suspicion.
While gearing up for the riots and collecting ammunition to teach Hindus a lesson, Tahir Hussain instructed his supporters to be “ready for anything and in every manner” and also ensure that all the CCTV cameras in the area were broken (so the evidence of the riots could not be captured).
