Delhi High Court Head constable murder case: Delhi HC grants bail to 5 accused, says 'right to protest and expressing dissent fundamental right'
New Delhi/IBNS: The right to protest and expressing dissent is a fundamental right, the Delhi High Court said Friday granting bail to five accused in the case related to head constable Rattan Lal's murder, which occurred during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) last year, media reports said.
The accused, who have been granted bail, are Furkan, Arif, Shadab Ahmad, Suvaleen and Tabassum.
In strong words, the court said as quoted by The Indian Express, "The applicability of Section 149 IPC, specifically read with Section 302, cannot be done on the basis of vague evidence and general allegations.
"When there is a crowd involved, at the juncture of grant or denial of bail the court must hesitate before arriving at the conclusion that every member of the unlawful assembly inhabits a common intention to accomplish the unlawful common object."
"There is no blanket bar as such which is imposed on the court on granting of bail in such cases and that the court can exercise discretion in releasing the accused, as long as reasons are recorded which clearly disclose how the discretion has been exercised," the court added.
"There is no electronic evidence which places the petitioner at the scene of crime, and the CDR (call details record) in the instant case of the petitioner is inconclusive as the petitioner is a resident of the local area, i.e. Gali No. 5," it said, granting bail to Furkan, The Indian Express reported.
