HC Questions Prolonged Jail in 2020 Riots Conspiracy Case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday questioned the prolonged incarceration of an accused in the 2020 North-East Delhi riots conspiracy case, asking the police how long a person can be kept in jail when five years have already passed since the violence.

- SHEKHAR SINGH @New Delhi

A division bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar posed the query to Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad during a hearing on the bail application of Tasleem Ahmed, one of the accused booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with FIR 59/2020.

Appearing for Ahmed, Advocate Mehmood Pracha focused solely on the delay in trial, clarifying that he was not arguing on the merits of the case or seeking bail on the ground of parity with other co-accused who were granted bail earlier. "My submissions are limited to the fact that trial proceedings have seen extraordinary delay," he told the court.