
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted custody parole to former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in a riots-related murder case to enable him to file nomination papers from the Mustafabad constituency on an AIMIM ticket.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna refused his plea for interim bail from Jan 14 till Feb 9 to fight the polls, saying that the gravity of allegations against Hussain, that he was the main perpetrator in the violence which resulted in the death of several persons, could not be overlooked.
Merely because he was a former municipal councillor would also not entitle him to interim bail, the court said as it imposed several conditions on Hussain during his custody parole including barring him from interacting with media or any person except the officials concerned in the nomination process. The court stated that as many as 11 FIRs were registered against him in connection with the riots and he was admittedly in custody in a related money laundering case and UAPA case.
“Considering the antecedents, nature of allegations and having regard to the totality of circumstances, he is granted custody parole for subscribing the oath and to complete the formalities in respect of filing his nomination papers,” the court said.
The court asked the authorities to facilitate the filing of nomination papers and completion of other formalities.
The State may coordinate accordingly with the authorities concerned so that the entire process is completed in a timely manner and the petitioner’s right of filing nomination is not impacted in any manner, it said.
The court clarified that Hussain would not interact with any person except the officials concerned in the nomination process or address the media. It also said the family members of the accused could remain present but they would not be permitted to click photos of the nomination process.