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The Supreme Court asked the Delhi High Court on Monday to hear bail plea of activist Gulfisha Fatima, one of the accused in Delhi riots case in February 2020, on the date fixed, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma refused to entertain a bail plea filed by Fatima and asked High Court to hear on November 25, the next date of hearing before it, her bail plea. "We are not inclined to entertain the present plea. We request the High Court to take up the bail plea on next date as it is pointed out that she is incarcerated for four years and seven months. It is requested that the bail application may be heard on the date fixed unless there are extraordinary circumstances," said the bench. Earlier, the apex court disposed of a similar writ petition filed by co-accused Sharjeel Imam requesting the High Court to decide the bail application soon. At the outset of the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Fatima, apprised the bench regarding delay in trial and long incarceration of the petitioner. "The matter gets adjourned when the board reaches it (before the High Court). What is the point of keeping someone in for four years and seven months in jail? She is a lady, aged 31 years. No question of a trial beginning," said Sibal. However, the bench asked why she has approached the apex court under Article 32 and dismissed the plea while asking the High Court to hear the matter on the next date of hearing. An MBA graduate, Fatima was arrested by Delhi Police on April 11, 2020 and later charge-sheeted. She has been charged with several provisions of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). (ANI)
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