SC grants Tahir Hussain custody parole to campaign for Delhi Assembly elections with riders

A special bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta said Hussain would have to pay the expenses for the security arrangements, including police escort, in advance. Custody parole entails a prisoner being escorted by armed police personnel to the place of visit.

The bench asked Hussain to pay advance for security arrangements every two days – calculated at Rs 2,07,429 per day. The first installment was directed to be made before 6 pm on Tuesday. “Thereafter, before expiry of two days, the expenses for the next two days would be deposited and similarly for the last two days, before expiry/or or before the fourth day, the amount has to be deposited,” the bench added.

Further, it directed Hussain not to visit his house located near the Mustafabad constituency — which as per the prosecution was the epicentre of the riots conspiracy — but said he could instead stay in accommodation specified by his counsel or any hotel. The court also barred Hussain from making any public comments on the merits of his case.

The order clarified that the relief “be not treated as a precedent” and Hussain’s bail application pending before the Delhi High Court “shall be considered on its own merits, uninfluenced by any observation made” by the SC.

On January 22, a two-judge bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah had delivered a split verdict while hearing Hussain’s plea seeking interim bail to campaign. While Justice Mithal had dismissed it, Justice Amanullah granted him interim bail. The matter was then directed to be placed before a three-judge bench and was accordingly listed before a special bench of Justices Nath, Karol and Mehta.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, appearing for the Delhi Police, said on Tuesday that Hussain is in custody in two more cases and even if granted interim bail in the current one, he will not be able to leave jail. Raju added that granting him interim bail to campaign will open the floodgates, as others may also approach courts seeking similar relief.

Representing Hussain, senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal said he was not seeking interim bail and he was only seeking custody parole to campaign. He further submitted that Hussain may be allowed to visit party office and meetings in the constituency.