NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday granted 30-day interim bail to a married couple accused of allegedly hurling racial slurs at their neighbours from Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar.
Instead of granting regular bail, Additional Sessions Judge Samar Vishal said it would be appropriate to release the accused, Harsh Priya Singh and Ruby Jain, on interim bail and observe their conduct during this period for a tentative duration of 30 days. The judge granted them interim relief till April 13 on a personal bond and a surety bond of `25,000 each.
In the order, the judge noted that the accused persons had remained in custody for about fifteen days and that the statements of the victims had already been recorded. The court further observed that the principal incident was captured in a video recording.
“Despite the reprehensible nature of the conduct attributed to the accused persons, I am of the considered view that no useful purpose would be served by their continued incarceration at this stage,” the judge said.
The court also observed that the further detention of the accused may not be warranted at this juncture if appropriate safeguards were put in place to ensure that the investigation proceeded unhindered.
The judge said it must be reasonably ensured that the accused would not act in any manner prejudicial to the ongoing investigation, refrain from attempting to influence the complainants or other witnesses, and conduct themselves in a manner befitting the law.
“This, in my view, can appropriately be achieved firstly by imposing stringent conditions while granting bail and secondly, instead of granting regular bail at this stage, by releasing them on interim bail and observing their conduct during this period for a tentative period of 30 days,” the judge said.
The accused had sought bail, claiming that the case was “merely a spontaneous dispute” between two neighbours and not an instance of racial discrimination.
They told the court that during the dispute, both sides used questionable language and derogatory remarks, and that they did not racially discriminate against the alleged victims.
“It was not a case of racial discrimination that attracted the charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as the accused were not aware that the complainants were tribal. They did not use any language specifically targeting their tribal identity,” the counsel representing the couple said.