Gulfisha Fatima, one of the accused in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case, walked out of Tihar Jail on Wednesday, hours after a Delhi court issued her release orders following bail granted by the Supreme Court, jail sources said.
Her release came after the trial court confirmed that all bail conditions laid down by the apex court had been met.
Earlier in the day, the court issued release orders for four of the five accused who were granted bail, after they furnished bail bonds of Rs 2 lakh each along with two local sureties.
The fifth accused, though granted bail by the Supreme Court on Monday, did not appear before the trial court to furnish bail bonds. The remaining three accused are expected to be released once procedural formalities are completed.
The trial court passed the release orders after Delhi Police submitted verification reports of the sureties and documents. The court noted that all bail conditions had been complied with.
The Supreme Court, while hearing the matter on Monday, denied relief to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, observing that a prima facie case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was made out against them.
However, it granted bail to five accused, citing a hierarchy of participation in the alleged conspiracy.
In Fatima’s case, the Supreme Court drew a distinction between allegations of involvement and the degree of control attributed to her.
“The allegation that Gulfisha Fatima mobilised local women and coordinated protest-site logistics, though relevant to the prosecution's case, does not presently disclose that she exercised independent command, resource control, or strategic oversight over multiple protest sites. The prosecution itself asserts that directions were conveyed to her by others higher in the asserted hierarchy. In these circumstances, this court finds that the level of attributed agency and control does not justify continued incarceration once the investigative purpose stands substantially fulfilled,” the bench said.
The apex court directed the trial court to expedite the bail process and imposed 11 conditions, making it clear that any misuse of liberty would lead to cancellation of bail.
The February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi erupted during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). The violence left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
Of the 20 accused named in the conspiracy case, two remain absconding.
The remaining 18 had applied for bail at different stages. Out of them, seven are still in prison — Salim Malik, Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, former Aam Aadmi Party leader Tahir Hussain, Athar Khan, Tasleem Ahmed and Khalid Saifi.
