Muslim Held in Delhi Riots
December 10, 2020
Iqbal may have to wait further for his release as the family says they are not in a financial position to furnish the personal bond right now.
Zafar Aafaq | Clarion India
NEW DELHI — The Delhi High Court has granted bail to a Muslim youth, jailed in connection with an alleged case of rioting and murder during the February north-east Delhi riots.
The bail was granted on Wednesday on the ground of parity, as the court noted that the respondents represented by the Additonal Solicitor-General have been unable to establish that the petitioner is not similarly situated with four other co-accused who are already out on bail granted by the High Court.
Justice Suresh Kumar Kait said he is of the view that on parity the petitioner deserves bail and ordered that Iqbal be released on bail forthwith on his furnishing a personal bond of Rs.15,000 (in view of the financial capacity of the petitioner) and a surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court.
However, the court said, “the petitioner shall not directly or
Iqbal comes from a downtrodden family living in a dingy, two-room house in Chandu Nagar locality of North East Delhi. Clarion India had reported in detail about his case and the family’s struggle for justice.
Iqbal is among the hundreds of young men who were arrested in cases related to Delhi riots that took place in late February this year and claimed over 50 lives, majority of them Muslims.
He has been in the Mandoli jail in Delhi since early March in a riot-related case. He was initially granted bail on June 10, but the police refused to release him citing another case and invoked murder charges against Iqbal. The dejected family had to wage a renewed battle leading to the granting of bail by the High court on Wednesday.
Speaking with Clarion India, Iqbal’s lawyer Chandan Goswami said: “Liberty is as much a right for the underprivileged in our country as it is for the one with all means and access. That’s what the constitution guarantees.”
The family now needs to go to the jail and submit the order and the surety to get him home.
But the family told Clarion India they did not have the required money right for surety and their son might have to wait for some more days before he gets free.
