HC seeks status report from police on JCC member's bail plea

The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought response from the police over the bail application filed by former Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) member Safoora Zargar in a February Delhi riots case.

The single-judge Bench of Justice Rajiv Shakdar asked the Delhi Police to file a status report and slated the matter for hearing on June 22.

Safoora, who is over 20 weeks pregnant, was arrested by the Delhi Police's special cell. She is accused of hatching a conspiracy to incite riots in the national capital's northeast area.

The trial court had dismissed her bail plea saying it found "no merit" in her petition. "When you choose to play with embers, you can't blame the wind to have carried the spark a bit too far and spread the fire," Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana had said dismissing her plea.

The court had also said, "If there is a prima facie evidence of conspiracy, the evidence of acts and statements made by one of the conspirators in furtherance of the common object is admissible against all, even if no direct evidence of violence is attributable to the applicant/accused, she can't shy away from her liability under the provisions of the UAPA."

But keeping in mind Safoora's medical condition, the court had asked the Jail Superintendent to provide adequate medical aid and assistance to her.

Opposing her bail plea, the special cell submitted that she had made inflammatory speech as a part of the conspiracy, hatched weeks ago, to instigate communal violence.

The police had then told the court accused persons were part of protests against the Citizen Amendment Act in various parts of the national capital.

"In the middle of February, the accused had allegedly planned to observe protest in various part of the northeast Delhi. They had also taken part in a protest and blocked road near Jafrabad Metro station," the police said.

The case relates to organising anti-CAA protests in Jafrabad where the agitators, majority of whom women, had begun protests against the new law last year.

Violence had later broken out between the protesters and CAA supporters this year in which at least 53 people including IB official Ankit Sharma and Head Constable Rattan Lal were killed.

( With inputs from IANS )