Student activist Safoora granted bail

DELHI RIOTS CASE

POLICE HAD EARLIER SAID SHE WAS NOT ENTITLED TO BAIL ON GROUNDS OF PREGNANCY AS THE LAW DOES NOT HAVE ANY SUCH PROVISION

Delhi high court on Tuesday granted bail to Safoora Zargar, one of the accused in the north-east Delhi riots cases and charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, after the city police did not oppose bail on humanitarian grounds.

Zargar, 27, had sought release from Tihar jail, where she is lodged, contending that she was more than four months pregnant and had medical complications.

On Monday, the police had said she was not entitled to bail on grounds of her being pregnant because the law does not have any such provision.

At the onset of Tuesday’s hearing, however, solicitor general (SG) Tushar Mehta, told the court they did not oppose bail on purely humanitarian grounds. Justice Rajiv Shakdher granted bail to Zargar, an Mphil student of Jamia Millia Islamia, on a personal bond of ~10,000 while noting down conditions mentioned by SG Mehta and additional solicitor general (ASG) Aman Lekhi she would not engage in activities for which she is being investigated.

“She will refrain from influencing, hampering and interfering in the ongoing investigation. In case she requires to leave the city, she will seek the permission of the concerned court,” justice Shakdher said.

The court also directed her to be in touch in with the investigating officer (IO) over the mobile phone once in 15 days.

Zargar was arrested on April 10 for allegedly conspiring with others to instigate the February communal riots in northeast Delhi that left at least 53 people dead and 400 injured.

Senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishna, appearing for Zargar, said she had no objections to most

of the conditions imposed by the city police through the SG and the ASG except the one that Zargar should stay out of Delhi. She contended that Zargar’s husband was in Delhi, and she has to stay here too, which court allowed.

In a note given to the court, the SG and the ASG said that bail for Zargar should not be treated as a precedent.

Delhi Police had contended on Monday that Zargar was one of the main conspirators in a plot to cause large-scale disruption and riots not only in the capital, but also in other parts of the country. Through her lawyers, Zargar has always denied the charges and said that even though she was present in the area, she did not deliver any speech.