Delhi High Court Grants Bail To Murder Accused In Delhi Riots Case On Ground Of Parity

Noting that four other accused in the case had already been released, a Single Bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait directed the authorities to release Iqbal on furnishing a personal bond of Rs.15,000/- along with a surety.

"It is not in dispute that 4 accused are already on bail pursuant to order passed by this Court. However, learned ASG is unable to establish that the present petitioner is not similarly situated with other 4 co-accused.

In view of the facts recorded above, I am of the view that on parity the petitioner deserves bail," the Judge ordered.

Mohd Iqbal, 24, was detained by the Delhi Police on March 8 for alleged involvement in rioting during the anti-CAA protests in Delhi.

As per Iqbal's family, he and is three friends had gone to a nearby market in the evening to buy meat when they were intercepted by the police and taken into custody. It is alleged that the family was not even informed about his detention until the next day.

It is pertinent to note that the 24-yr-old was granted bail by a local Court in Delhi on June 10, against a surety bond of Rs 20,000/-. However, he was not released pursuant to the said order on account of his alleged involvement in another murder case. Iqbal was said to be involved with a mob that allegedly caused the death of a person during the riots.

Accordingly, he was booked under Sections 147, 148, 149 (Rioting), 302 (Murder) and 395 (Dacoity) of IPC.

The family claimed that they were never informed about any second case against Iqbal until they approached the Mandoli Jail authorities for his release. They also alleged that even after the bail, the police did not give a copy of the FIR.

Iqbal was represented by Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde with Advocates Chandan Goswami, Anas Tanwi, Eeshan Pandey and Mudit Makhijan.

Case Title: Iqbal v. State (GNCTD)

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