New Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the response of Delhi Police on a plea filed by former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain seeking regular bail in a case linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Neena Bansal Krishna and Madhu Jain directed the police to submit its reply within four weeks on Hussain's appeal challenging a trial court order dated January 29, which had denied him bail.

Appearing for the prosecution, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju requested additional time to file the agency's response.

The court scheduled the next hearing for July 14 and also granted the police time to respond to Hussain's application seeking condonation of an 87-day delay in filing the appeal.

Hussain, along with several others, has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in Delhi. The violence had claimed 53 lives and left more than 700 people injured.

The riots broke out amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Several activists, including Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi and Umar Khalid, have also been named as accused in the larger conspiracy case being investigated by the Special Cell of Delhi Police.

Earlier this year, the trial court rejected Hussain's plea for regular bail, observing that previous judicial orders had established a prima facie case against him. The court held that, in view of the provisions of the UAPA, he was not entitled to bail.

Section 43D(5) of the anti-terror law stipulates that an accused cannot be granted bail if the court believes there are reasonable grounds to conclude that the allegations against the person are prima facie true, based on the case diary or the charge sheet submitted by investigators.

In its charge sheet, Delhi Police has alleged that Hussain maintained links with activists Khalid Saifi and Umar Khalid, claiming they were part of a broader network involved in organising protests across the national capital.

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Investigators have also stated that they recovered several incriminating materials from Hussain's residence, including crates containing glass bottles filled with liquid and cloth pieces allegedly intended for use as Molotov cocktails, along with large quantities of bricks, stones and three catapults.