NEW DELHI: In a recent development concerning the 2020 Delhi riots, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain has been granted bail in a money laundering case by a court in New Delhi. The case was registered by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the riots that occurred in northeast Delhi.
Despite being granted bail in the money laundering case, Hussain will remain in custody as he is also a defendant in a separate case related to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the communal riots. The court, presided over by Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai, took into account the fact that Hussain had already spent over four years in jail. The maximum sentence for the offense under Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is seven years, and the court acknowledged that Hussain had already served more than half of this sentence.
The court determined that Hussain is eligible for bail since he had already served more than half of the imprisonment period for the offense he was allegedly involved in. Consequently, he was granted bail upon providing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 along with two sureties in the same amount.
Delhi Police had previously filed three FIRs against Hussain and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in connection with the communal riots. Subsequent to these scheduled offenses, the Enforcement Directorate initiated an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Hussain on March 9, 2020.
