Turkman Gate violence: Delhi court grants bail to six accused

A Delhi court has granted bail to six people accused in the stone-pelting incident during a demolition exercise near the Faiz-e-Elahi mosque in Turkman Gate last month.

Additional Sessions Judge Bhupinder Singh granted relief to Mohammad Faiz, Mohammad Affan, Mohammed Imran, Shahzad, Mohammad Imran, and Mohammad Faheem on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety of like amount each.

Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava appeared for the state.

Advocates M Asad Beig, Manjeet Saini and others appeared for the accused.

“Balancing the gravity of the allegations with the fundamental right to personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and keeping in view the overall facts and circumstances of the case, in particular their respective ages, clean antecedents, the period of incarceration, on grounds of parity with the co-accused released on bail and non-requirement for the purpose of investigation, I find merits in the bail application,” said the judge in an order dated February 25,” the court order read.

The court noted that the video evidence placed on record by the prosecution did not conclusively establish the identity of the accused, as their faces were not distinctly discernible, and a forensic investigation to ascertain their identity was still underway.

The court called for a “careful scrutiny of the material” linking the accused to the incident, considering they were not apprehended from the spot but arrested subsequently during the course of investigation.

“Mere presence in a gathering, without clear material demonstrating active participation or overt acts, cannot justify continued incarceration at the pre-trial stage. At this juncture, the material does not conclusively establish such individual attribution,” it observed.

Earlier, on February 17, the court granted bail to 12 accused in the case.

The court affirmed the principle of parity in the present case, noting that there was no “distinguishing circumstance” from the earlier case, as it also pertained to similar accusations of unlawful assembly and dissemination of material on social media.

“The object of bail is to secure the presence of the accused during trial,” the court said, as it noted that there was no need to conduct a detailed examination of evidence or to record findings on merits of the case at this stage.

“Bail cannot be refused merely because the offence alleged carries a severe punishment,” it observed.

The court said that pre-trial detention is not meant to serve as punishment, and it must therefore “balance the gravity of the accusation with the right to personal liberty and ensure that a person is not kept in custody unless such detention is truly required in the interest of justice.”

It noted that, being locals, there had been no attempts by the accused to evade the process of law.

The court said there is no likelihood of tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses as the investigation has been completed, a chargesheet has been filed, and all witnesses are police officers.

It also said there seems to be no likelihood of escalation or disturbance of public order, as the situation has normalised by now.

The court, as bail conditions, directed that the accused keep their phones on all the time with location services enabled, do not circulate any content relating to the incident, do not participate in any activities that disturb public order, and do not flee, or tamper with evidence.

On January 24, a separate sessions court granted bail to Ubaidullah after the first bail order of January 20 was set aside and sent back to the sessions court by the Delhi High Court.

The case pertains to a confrontation with police and authorities during an anti-encroachment drive near the mosque in the Ramlila Maidan area on the intervening night of January 6 and 7.

The police said rumours were spread on social media that the mosque opposite Turkman Gate was being demolished, prompting people to gather at the spot.

It has been alleged that around 150-200 people hurled stones and glass bottles at the police and MCD personnel, injuring six policemen, including the area’s station house officer.