NEW DELHI: Far away in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh city, Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha's family heaved a sigh of relief after he was granted bail by the Delhi High Court on Tuesday in a case related to the northeast Delhi riots.
His father Mujibullah said the atmosphere in their home is like that of Eid.
"We are very happy. It has been more than a year since he has been in jail. We didn't celebrate Eid this year but today it feels like Eid," he said.
"My wife has gone to distribute sweets to her sister," he told PTI over phone from Hazaribagh.
Tanha's mother, Jahan Ara, was up the whole night on Monday and was praying for her son's release, his father said.
He was arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with a case of larger conspiracy related to the northeast Delhi riots.
Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 last year after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.
"Last night, we got to know that his bail is coming up for hearing on Tuesday. His mother was up the whole night praying for him and didn't have water till we got the news. This is a result of her prayers," Mujibullah said.
He said the family had last met Tanha when he had come home in January last year.
"Currently, he is out on interim bail since his exams are going on. We don't intend to travel since it is difficult to get train tickets and other modes of transport are not readily available," he said.
Foundations of our nation stand on a surer footing and cannot be shaken by a protest organised by "a tribe of college students", the Delhi High Court said on Tuesday while granting bail to Tanha and holding that prima facie no offence is made out against him under the stringent anti-terror law.