Delhi HC denies bail to student accused of carrying sword, killing Muslims during Delhi riots
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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has refused to grant bail to a man who was arrested in three murder cases after he was allegedly seen carrying a sword during the Delhi riots last year, PTI reported.
While denying bail, Justice Subramonium Prasad observed that the bail jurisprudence attempts to bridge the gap between the personal liberty of an accused and ensuring that the social security remains intact.
"It is the intricate balance between securing the personal liberty of an individual and ensuring that this liberty does not lead to an eventual disturbance of public order. Therefore, a duty resides in this Court to be conscious of whether granting of bail can lead to a possible impediment in the conducting of investigation that can cause an inevitable rupture in public order," Justice Prasad said in his judgment.
The Court was informed that there is only one public witness who identified the petitioner carrying the sword and is yet to be examined. Since that witness also belongs to the Hindu community and resides in the same locality as the accused, there is a possibility that he will be threatened and influenced.
Therefore, the bench requested the trial court to conclude the examination of the witness within one month, preferably on a day-to-day basis.
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Manoj Chaudhary, appearing for the State, said that the man had confessed in February 2020 that his religious sentiments were hurt by slogans raised by the Muslim community against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) which led to him joining the mob.
The prosecution added that the mobile location of the petitioner was also of the alleged crime spot and there was a reasonable apprehension of him absconding or influencing the witnesses if released.
The petitioner had sought bail on the ground that the FIRs against him were concocted and the whole investigation was based on the false testimony of the eyewitness.
