2020 Delhi riots: Delhi HC rejects police plea to cancel Ishrat Jahan’s bail

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to interfere with the bail granted to former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan in a case linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.

Dismissing an appeal filed by the Delhi Police seeking cancellation of bail, a Division Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja observed that more than four years have elapsed since Jahan was granted relief, and there were no allegations of breach of conditions imposed by the trial court.

“We make it clear that we have not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case,” the Delhi High Court said.

Jahan was arrested in February 2020 in connection with a larger conspiracy case linked to the riots, registered under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

She was granted regular bail by a Karkardooma court on March 14, 2022. The Delhi Police, in its appeal, contended that the trial court had ignored material evidence and erred in granting bail despite allegations of a “pre-planned, multi-layered conspiracy” to engineer large-scale violence coinciding with the visit of the then US President to India.

The plea further argued that the trial court order was contrary to settled legal principles and suffered from serious infirmities, asserting that Jahan played an active role in organising protests that allegedly escalated into riots. However, the Delhi High Court was not inclined to accept the contentions and upheld the bail order, noting the absence of any material to show a violation of bail conditions over the past four years.

In January 2024, a trial court framed charges against Jahan and several others, including offences such as rioting, unlawful assembly, and attempt to murder, observing that there were prima facie grounds to proceed to trial.

Separately, in April 2024, a local court modified Jahan’s bail conditions, permitting her to practise law beyond the National Capital Region (NCR), while recording that she had not violated any condition since being released on bail.

IANS