Prayagraj Violence: Allahabad High Court grants bail to Javed Mohammad, says no evidence to show he instigated mob

The Allahabad High Court on Saturday granted bail to Javed Mohammad, the main accused in the 2022 Prayagraj violence case [Javed Mohammad v State of UP]..Justice Sameer Jain, found that it was a fit case for bail as only general allegations were made against all the accused persons, including Javed and there was no prima facie evidence to show that he indulged in violence or instigated the mob. "It is neither alleged in the FIR nor in the statements of prosecution witnesses recorded during the investigation that applicant was either instigating the people or was leading the mob or he was having any weapon in his hand or was hurling bomb or set the vehicles on fire," the Court said..The case concerned mob violence that took place on June 10, 2022, during protests against remarks made by BJP leader Nupur Sharma concerning Prophet Mohammed. The police claimed that Javed had instigated several Muslim youth to pelt stones at police officers. The mob violence is stated to have led to public property being damaged, a number of vehicles being set on fire and three police personnel sustaining injuries. As per the police, others accused in the case alleged that Javed had instigated them to join the mob. Javed submitted that he had instructed people to gather after Friday prayer to show unity to the administration. All the accused were arrested and booked under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Explosive Substance Act..On Saturday, the High Court opined that the statements suggesting that Javed had asked others accused to assemble after Friday prayer did not reflect that he either instigated or instructed the others to commit violence."Neither in the FIR nor in the statement of any prosecution witnesses including the statement of police personnel, it has been alleged that applicant was either leading or he was instigating the people at the spot," the Court observed..The judge went on to reiterate that bail is a rule and jail is an exception. Bail cannot be rejected for punitive purposes, the Court added. It was further noted that Javed had been in jail since June 2022. The Court proceeded to order that Javed be released on bail, after adding that it did not appear that he had been instrumental to causing the violence. In this regard, the order stated:"Bail is a rule and jail is an exception and bail can not be rejected for punitive purposes. Although, it appears that due to the aggression and activeness of the applicant, people of his community gathered in large number and thereafter mob committed the violence but considering the fact that applicant does not appear to be instrumental for such violence and he is in jail, in the present matter, since 10.6.2022 and number of similarly placed accused persons have already been enlarged on bail.".The Court also noted that for all the offences alleged, the maximum punishment was either three years or seven years of jail. Further, there was no allegation that Javed had possessed or hurled any bomb or caused any injury to police personnel. From this viewpoint as well, the Court was inclined to grant bail.Moreover, several others accused in the same case have been released on bail by another bench of the High Court, the judge highlighted. Therefore, the Court also cited parity in allowing Javed's bail plea. .Javed was represented by Senior Advocate Syed Ahmed Faizan along with advocate Zaheer Asghar..On a related note, Javed's house was demolished by Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) after he was charged as an accused in this case. A plea moved by his wife challenging this move is pending before the High Court. .[Read Order]