NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court set aside the trial court order granting bail to a private school owner in a communal violence case during anti-CAA protests in north-east Delhi in February, saying the entire country is aggrieved by the action of offenders who tarnish the secular fabric and need to be punished severely.
The high court said the personal liberty of an individual, though precious, is of little value if the larger interest of the people and the nation is at stake.
Justice Suresh Kumar Kait allowed the plea of Delhi Police challenging the trial court’s June 20 order granting bail to Faisal Farooq and said the decision was passed at a pre-mature stage while ignoring the relevant material on record.
“The ASJ (additional sessions judge) has failed to appreciate that while deciding an application for bail, the interest of the society is also to be safeguarded. The entire country is aggrieved by the action of such offenders who tarnish the basic secular fabric of the nation and need to be punished severely. Personal liberty of an individual, though precious, is of little value if the larger interest of the people and nation are at stake,” the high court said in its 21-page verdict.
The accused was not released from jail as there was a stay on the bail order.
The HC noted that it had stayed the trial court order on June 22; thereafter, it had vacated the stay on July 2.
Aggrieved by the order, the police approached the Supreme Court which on August 4 stayed the high court’s July 2 decision, due to which Farooq has not been released in the present case.
Therefore, no further direction to surrender is required to be passed, the high court said.
(With PTI inputs)