The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted custody parole to Mohammad Tahir Hussain, a former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor and 2020 Delhi riots accused, allowing him to campaign for the upcoming Delhi election. The parole allows him to campaign for 12 hours daily from January 29 to February 3.
The court imposed strict conditions on Hussain, requiring him to pay for two police personnel, a jail van, and an escort vehicle, which cost over ₹2 lakh per day. He was told to make an advance deposit for two days.
Hussain can go to his party office and conduct voter meetings within his constituency but cannot go to his residence in Karawal Nagar or talk about pending cases during his campaign.
Senior advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, who appeared for Hussain, pleaded before the bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta that his client be allowed to campaign under police custody as there is not much time left for electioneering.
Aggarwal assured the court, “I will not go to the house and will stay in a hotel and provide details,” as per PTI. However, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju opposed the plea, saying that such relief may set a precedent for other jailed people filing nominations.
Before this, the Delhi High Court had awarded him custody parole on January 14 so that he could file his nomination papers for the Mustafabad constituency, from where he is contesting on an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) ticket.
The Delhi riots, which broke out on February 24, 2020, had claimed 53 lives and left many others injured. Charges against Hussain are alleged to be connected to the death of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma who was killed during the mayhem.