Court grants bail to 3 alleged PFI members in northeast Delhi riots case

A court here granted bail on Friday to three alleged members of the Popular Front of India (PFI), including its Delhi president and state secretary, arrested for their "involvement" in anti-CAA protests and the communal riots in northeast Delhi.

Metropolitan Magistrate Prabh Deep Kaur granted bail to Mohammad Danish, Parvez Alam, PFI Delhi president, and its state secretary Mohammad Ilyas, and asked the investigating officer (IO) to explain by March 17 as to why they were not granted bail, despite the alleged offences being bailable.

"It is a settled principle that in bailable offences, it is the duty of the IO to offer bail to the accused persons at the first instance.

"There is no explanation by the IO as to why he had not offered bail to the accused persons at the first instance as per the constitutional as well as procedural mandate and therefore, let a written explanation be called from the IO concerned with respect to his failure to offer bail to the accused persons in bailable offences as per the constitutional and procedural mandate returnable on March 17," the court said.

It granted bail to the accused on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 30,000 each.

Alam and Ilyas were sent to a seven-day police remand last Thursday, whereas Danish was sent to a four-day police custody on Monday for interrogation in connection with last month's communal violence in northeast Delhi.

Alam and Ilyas were arrested by the Delhi Police's Special Cell last Thursday.

The bail order came after the police sought further custodial interrogation of the accused.