A Delhi court on Wednesday allowed Shifa ur Rehman, an accused in the 2020 Delhi riots case, to be released on custody parole to campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections in the national capital, Live Law reported.

Rehman is contesting the elections, scheduled for February 5, on an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen ticket from the Okhla seat. The counting of votes will take place on February 8.

Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Courts granted Rehman custody parole from January 30 till February 3 for campaigning. The court said that he could be released for 12 hours during the day, as per the timings prescribed in the jail manual.

Bajpai also took into account a Supreme Court order from Tuesday that granted custody parole to former Aam Aadmi Party Councillor Tahir Hussain to campaign for the elections.

Hussain, also accused in the riots case, is contesting as an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen ticket candidate from Mustafabad.

Both Rehman and Hussain, along with several others, were booked for multiple offences under the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in connection with the clashes that broke out between February 23 and February 26, 2020, among supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing it in North East Delhi.

The violence had left 53 dead and hundreds injured. Most of those killed were Muslims.

The police have claimed that the violence was part of a larger conspiracy to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and was hatched by those who organised the protests against the amended Citizenship Act.

Rehman had sought interim bail for four weeks to campaign for the elections in Delhi, Live Law reported. He had earlier told the court that he had been granted interim bail on two occasions and had never misused the liberty.

On Wednesday, Bajpai allowed Rehman to visit his party office and attend meetings in his constituency. “The applicant/accused shall not make any comments on his pending cases in his speech/campaign or any press conference,” Live Law quoted the judge as saying.

AAP MLA Naresh Balyan’s plea rejected

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday rejected a petition filed by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Naresh Balyan, who was seeking custody parole in a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act case to campaign for his wife who is contesting the Assembly elections in Delhi, Bar and Bench reported.

Refusing to grant Balyan’s petition, Justice Vikas Mahajan said that he would hear the petition filed by the Uttam Nagar MLA seeking regular bail plea on Thursday. Earlier this month, a trial court had rejected his petition for regular bail, after which he moved the High Court.

Balyan was arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act on December 4 based on allegations that he was linked to a criminal syndicate headed by gangster Kapil Sangwan. Balyan was already in police custody in an extortion case.

While first introduced in Maharashtra in 1999, the applicability of the Act extends to the National Capital Territory.

At the hearing on Wednesday, Advocate MS Khan, representing Balyan, sought parity with the Supreme Court granting Hussain custody parole to campaign for the elections. However, the Delhi Police opposed his petition, stating that an investigation into the matter was underway.

The court then rejected the petition for custody parole and said that Balyan’s case was different from Hussain’s.