ILNS: The Delhi High Court Thursday turned down the bail application of Delhi riots accused Shahrukh Pathan, the man who fired at the police officials and others, after riots broke out in Jaffarabad area of the national capital in February last year.
“The role attributed to the petitioner is not confined to participation in the mob of rioters, but of heading the large crowd holding a pistol in hand and releasing open fire shots. The video clipping and pictures played before us have shaken the conscience of this Court. How the petitioner could take law and order in his hands?” said the Single Judge bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, and dismissed the bail application.
“Whether or not the petitioner had intention to kill the complainant or any person present in the public with his open air pistol shots, but it is hard to believe that he had no knowledge that his act may harm anyone present at the spot,” the court said and dismissed the bail saying that the offences committed by the accused are of grave in nature.
Pathan was arrested on February 24 last year, brandishing a pistol with the temerity of firing and pointing it at police personnel Head Constable Deepak Dahiya, who was deputed on that day for law and order arrangements near Jaffarabad Metro Station. The instant case against Pathan was registered under various Sections of rioting, murder, unlawful gathering, intention to kill, and with Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act.
During the course of arguments, Advocates Khalid Akhtar, Mohammed Shadan, Bilal Khan, Maaz Akhtar and Sheikh Bakhtiyar appeared for Pathan, while Delhi Police was represented by Special Public Prosecutor in the Delhi Riots cases Advocate Amit Mahajan and Rajat Nair and Advcocates Shantanu Sharma and Dhruv Pande.
It was argued by Pathan’s counsel that merely because the petitioner was apprehended from Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, he cannot be said to be an absconder until and unless declared by the court, especially when no notice was issued against him to appear before the authorities.
“The petitioner has been made a scapegoat/ poster boy of the riots and complainant has become the symbol of bravery before the media persons, which is against the fundamental rights of the petitioner,” Pathan’s lawyers argued.
They further added that the trial court, while refusing to grant bail to Pathan, has not considered material factual aspects and mechanically held that the allegations levelled against him were grave.
Opposing the said submissions, the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) argued that the petitioner had absconded since the day of alleged incident and he could be intercepted only on March 3, 2020 and at his instance, the illegal weapon used by him on February 24, 2020 with two live cartridges and the shirt worn by him at the time of incident, were recovered from his house.
“The call detail record and the video footage analysis clearly show the petitioner’s involvement in the alleged incident of riots,” said the prosecution.
It was also argued that no leniency is required to be shown towards the petitioner and this petition deserves to be dismissed.
Pathan had moved the court, challenging the order of the trial court, denying him bail in the present case. The Karkardooma Court in November had refused to grant interim bail to Pathan, whose videos showing him ‘firing shots’ at a policeman, during the February 2020 Delhi Riots, had gone viral on the social media/internet. Earlier, Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat had rejected the interim bail plea of Pathan.
Read Also: Judiciary vs Police: Striking a balance
After the said incident near Jaffarabad Metro Station, Pathan had fled from the scene. He was arrested by the team of Delhi Police Crime Branch on March 3, 2020 from the Shamli Bus Stand, Uttar Pradesh, on the basis of secret information