North-east Delhi violence: HC rejects bail to two accused in head constable murder case, grants bail to other two

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea of two accused-- Sadiq and Irshad Ali, in connection with the murder of Head Constable Rattan Lal during the northeast violence case in the national capital last year.

However, Justice Subramoniam Prasad has granted bail to two other accused -- Shahnawaz and Mohd Ayyub in the same case.

Justice Subramoniam Prasad has reserved order on the bail pleas of four accused last month.

Earlier the Delhi High Court has granted bail to five people accused in FIR related to the murder case of Head Constable Ratan Lal, as well as causing injuries to a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) during the North East Delhi violence that erupted in February 2020.

Justice Subramoniam Prasad had earlier said that the court is of the opinion that the petitioners cannot be made to languish behind bars for a longer period of time and that the veracity of the allegations levelled against them can be tested during trial.

Those five accused who were granted bail earlier were Furkan, Mohd Arif, Shadab Ahmed, Suvaleen and Tabassum with a condition not to leave NCT of Delhi without prior permission of the court.

The Court noted that the petitioner has been in Judicial Custody since long. The fourth chargesheet has already been filed, and trial in the matter is likely to take a long time.

"This Court had opined that it would not be prudent to keep the petitioner behind bars for an undefined period of time at this stage. The petitioner has roots in society, and, therefore, there is no danger of him absconding and fleeing," the High Court said.

Earlier, prosecution lawyers argued that this is an unfortunate case of the brutal murder of head constable Rattan Lal during the communal riots, in which DCP Shahdara Amit Sharma, IPS Anuj Kumar, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gokalpuri and 51 other policemen had also suffered severe injuries at the hands of rioters.

Prosecutors further argued that the accused used to share a stage with the other protestors and instigate the gathering against the Government of India, which ultimately led to the death of more than 50 innocent persons in northeast Delhi.

Whereas, defence lawyers argued that the accused had been falsely implicated in the matter by the investigating agency and has nothing to do with the alleged incident.

According to the chargesheet, the public witnesses and the local beat staff have categorically mentioned in their statements about the specific role of accused persons that they were involved along with the main organisers of the protest and were fully involved in inciting people for rioting.

At least 53 people lost their lives and hundreds of others were injured in the violence, which erupted groups supporting and opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the northeast area of the national capital in February this year.

( With inputs from ANI )