The Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat of the Karkardooma Court has granted bail to Mohammad Shariq and Mohammad Shahzad in connection with the North East Delhi violence of February 2020, observing that their presence in the crime scene was “but natural”.
“The accused/ applicant resides in the vicinity of the scene of crime and therefore him being present near the scene of crime is but natural. The investigation against the accused is complete and the charge-sheet has been filed in the court”, the ASJ said.
The State had alleged that the two accused persons were arrested on the basis of an FIR related to the death of one Prem Singh who was held by one Imran and stabbed by one Asif. The two accused Shariq and Shahzad’s role was that of participation in the unlawful assembly that also constituted Imran and Asif, thereby instigating the murder of Prem Singh.
The accused were booked for murder, criminal conspiracy, being part of an unlawful assembly and relevant sections of the Arms Act. They were alleged to have been identified by three witnesses through the Common Application Form and they were subsequently arrested on November 2, 2020 after eight months of the registration of the FIR.
The court observed that even though there were some witnesses, “no judicial test identification parade has been conducted and the identification has taken place on the basis of black and white photographs of the applicant/accused on the CAF forms.”
The court also noted that the prosecution could not place on record “any material to suggest that the applicant is at flight risk or there are chances of him fleeing the arms of justice.” The court also accepted that the applicants have been in judicial custody since November 6 last year.
Accordingly, their bail applications were allowed by the District court.
The order may be read here:
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