A local court in Delhi has granted interim bail to an accused in a UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) case stating that “unnecessary detention [of the accused] makes a substantial difference and tantamounts to an unwarranted interference with the rights of the accused.”
The accused, Habibur Rehman, was booked for the trade of fake Indian currency notes. The court granted interim bail to the accused on Tuesday while noting that the police had not been able to produce the sanction order for the call intercepts that were crucial to the prosecution’s case.
Granting interim relief to the accused Habibur Rehman in the 2021 case, Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana also asked the Union Home Secretary and Special Commissioner, Special Cell of Delhi Police, to personally look into the matter regarding the missing sanction order and why it has not yet been placed on record.
The court said the police had filed a “very hazy and sketchy” response stating that the “sanction order had been weeded out”.
ASJ Rana said the reply did not clarify whether the “weeded out” order referred to the copy with the Special Cell or the original one with the Home Department.
He added that the reply also did not specify under what circumstances the copy was “weeded out”.
“The bail application of the applicant/accused Habibur Rehman is lingering on due to the callousness of the investigating agency for the past several dates... In my considered opinion, every millisecond of unnecessary detention makes a substantial difference and tantamounts to an unwarranted interference with the rights of the accused,” the court said in its order on May 17.
The court thus granted interim bail to the accused on a personal bond of ₹50,000 and two sureties each of the like amount.
The court has posted the matter for hearing on May 27.
