Supreme Court had pointed out that there was no allegation against Khan that he engaged in any form of terror funding or such other ancillary activity
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the petition filed by the Delhi Police seeking cancellation of bail granted to Faizan Khan. He was arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the northeast Delhi violence.
The Delhi High Court had granted bail to Khan on October 23 after police failed to provide any evidence that proved his direct involvement in the protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan declined the plea of Delhi Police. Faizan Khan, a SIM card salesman, is facing charges for supplying mobile phone SIMs to students without mandatory verification of identity to enable them to participate in the conspiracy in connection to the northeast Delhi violence without being detected.
According to the police petition, Faizan Khan and one of the charge-sheeted accused and acted in connivance with Jamia Millia Islamia University student Asif Iqbal Tanha and executed the “preparatory work” for the commission of the unlawful and terrorist acts.
Police had further stated that during interrogation, Faizan disclosed that he had activated one SIM for a JMI student, named Asif Iqbal Tanha, in someone else’s name. The same number was later used by another accused, Safoora Zargar, in name of the “Jamia Coordination Committee” for managing various sites and mobilizing Muslim people, which led to a traffic blockade (chakka jaam) and riots.
The Supreme Court had pointed out that there was no allegation against Khan that he engaged in any form of terror funding or such other ancillary activity.
The Court wrote in its observation, “For invoking the UAPA against the Khan, it is the duty of the investigating agency to demonstrate that he had “actual knowledge” that the said SIM card would be used for organizing the protests.”