The Supreme Court on Friday granted six-month interim bail to two people accused in the Delhi riots case, while referring a larger bench to the question of whether a person can be kept in custody for a long period and face delays in trial despite strict bail limits set by law.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and BP Varali chose not to make any comments on the latest judgment delivered by the bench led by Justice PV Nagarathna. This ruling criticized the ruling issued on January 5, which denied bail to activists Omar Khaled and Sharjeel Imam.
The Delhi Police has asked the court to place before a larger bench the legal question of whether long periods of pre-trial imprisonment and delays in proceedings can take precedence over stringent bail conditions under anti-terrorism laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
The bench said that the decision to deny bail to Omar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the Delhi riots case was taken after evaluating each accused individually and considering the role assigned to them. She said that the ruling did not put Article 21 without other considerations.
The Supreme Court granted six-month interim bail to Abdul Khalid Saifi and Taslim Ahmed in the Delhi riots case, subject to certain conditions.
She added that the prosecution may demand cancellation of bail if either of them fails to follow the conditions set by the court.
The bench also directed that the matter be placed before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant to establish an appropriate bench to render a formal ruling on the legal issue in question.
With input from agencies
