2020 Delhi riots: HC asks police to respond to bail plea of Shahrukh Pathan who pointed gun at policeman

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the city police's response on the bail application of Shahrukh Pathan who was shown on national television brazenly pointing a gun at a policeman during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Delhi Police on Pathan’s bail plea and granted them four weeks to file the reply.

The high court also ordered Pathan's nominal roll detailing his conduct in jail to be submitted to it before April 16, the next date of hearing.

“Issue notice. The prosecutor for the State accepts notice and seeks four weeks time to file a status report. Let the nominal roll be requisitioned before the next date,” the court said.

During the hearing, Pathan’s counsel submitted that he has been accused of the offence of attempt to murder for which the maximum punishment is 10 years. Moreover, no injury was caused to anyone in the case.

He sought bail on the ground that Pathan has been in custody for the last four years.

The prosecutor urged the court to also call for a report from the jail on the conduct of the accused as he would be relying on it while opposing the bail plea.

Pathan has challenged a trial court’s December 14 last year order dismissing his bail plea.

He had sought the relief on grounds that he was in custody since March 2020 and around 90 witnesses were yet to be examined. He cannot be put in jail for “eternity”, his lawyer contended.

The trial court had noted that the case involved Pathan brandishing a pistol and firing upon a Delhi Police head constable during the communal riots in Jafrabad on February 24, 2020.

An FIR was registered against him under various sections of the IPC, including rioting, armed with a deadly weapon, unlawful assembly, obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, assault, or criminal force to deter public servant from duty, voluntarily causing hurt, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and under the Arms Act.

Pathan was arrested on March 3, 2020 from Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district and is currently lodged in a jail here.

Communal clashes had broken out between those supporting and opposing the new citizenship law in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020. The riots that went on for several days left 53 people dead and scores injured.