By Sohini Ghosh
Former AAP councillor and 2020 Northeast Delhi riots accused Tahir Hussain, who joined the AIMIM last month and is due to contest the Delhi Assembly elections from Mustafabad constituency, on Friday moved the Delhi High Court seeking interim bail from January 14 to February 9 to participate in the polls.
Initially listed before the court of Justice Amit Sharma, the court recused itself from taking up the matter. The plea was then listed before Justice Neena Bansal Krishna but could not be taken up. The matter is now expected to be taken up on Monday (January 13).
Hussain, who has been in custody since March 16, 2020, is seeking interim bail, as he faces charges of killing Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots. The AAP had suspended Hussain after he was named as an accused in the case.
Hussain is seeking interim bail to “fill nomination papers and also for canvassing and campaigning.” While candidates can file nomination till January 17, polling is scheduled to take place on February 5.
Submitting that all candidates must be “treated with parity and afforded equal opportunities to participate in the electoral process,” Hussain has stated in his plea that canvassing forms an “integral and indispensable” part of the electoral process.
To make his case, he has also relied on the Supreme Court judgment in favour of AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in 2024, when it had granted him bail to participate in the Lok Sabha elections.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
