Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain moves SC seeking interim bail to campaign for Assembly polls; hearing likely today

Hussain, who joined the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) last month, has challenged the Delhi High Court verdict of January 14 as per which he was refused interim bail and was instead granted custody parole for the purpose of filing his nomination papers. His papers were accepted following scrutiny on January 18.

The high court had primarily refused him interim bail citing the gravity of offences alleged against him and the Delhi Police had also opposed the relief, citing that it may “accentuate polarisation”.

In the special leave petition before the Supreme Court, Hussain has pointed out that eight of the accused in the case, including the main accused, are already out on bail.

He has also submitted that he was a victim of the riots himself, during which the front portion of his building — which was under construction — was trespassed and taken over.

Hussain has further emphasised that he needs to attend to the modalities of how his finances are handled and wants to campaign before the public to ensure that the electorate is able to exercise its franchise in an informed and meaningful manner.

Hussain is set to contest from Mustafabad constituency. He has been in custody since March 16, 2020, and is facing charges of killing Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 riots. He has 11 cases against him, including the larger conspiracy case related to the riots and a money-laundering case, and has been granted bail in eight of them.

The AAP suspended Hussain after he was named an accused in the riots case.