The Supreme Court has modified the bail conditions for 2020 Delhi riots accused Meeran Haider, reducing his mandatory reporting requirement to police from twice a week to once a week on Saturdays.
A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi adjusted the reporting schedule after Haider’s counsel, senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal, informed the court that twice-weekly physical attendance created hardship for his client, who is seeking employment and unable to meet weekday requirements due to working hours. Under the modified order, Haider must now mark his attendance every Saturday between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon before the Station House Officer (SHO) at the Crime Branch police station.
While granting the modification on reporting schedules, the Supreme Court refused to relax other bail conditions imposed in its earlier January 5 judgment.
Haider’s legal counsel had requested the court to narrow restrictions that prevent him from participating in programs, addressing gatherings, rallies, or meetings—physically or virtually—and from circulating posts, handbills, posters, or banners in any form until the trial concludes. The defense asked the bench to limit these prohibitions specifically to matters involving the present case.
The bench rejected the proposal, stating that the scope of the restriction was intended to be broader. “It has to be much wider,” the bench remarked, emphasizing that the court explicitly chose not to limit the restriction solely to the present case and dismissing that portion of Haider’s application.
Regarding a separate condition requiring Haider to remain within Delhi, Agarwal noted that relief could be addressed before the trial court as outlined in the January 5 ruling.
The proceedings stem from the ongoing trial related to the 2020 Delhi communal violence, in which law enforcement authorities invoked charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). In its January 5 ruling, the Supreme Court granted bail to Haider along with four co-accused—Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohammad Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed. In the same ruling, the top court denied bail to former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) scholar Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, ruling that the prosecution’s case and police evidence placed the two on a “qualitatively different footing” compared to the other accused.
Sources
[Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sc-allows-delhi-riots-accused-to-mark-attendance-to-cops-only-on-saturday-101790359644216.html)
Source: Hindustan Times – India News
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Story synopsis gathered from: Hindustan Times – India News — source
