SC On UAPA: While granting bail to UAPA accused Sheikh Javed Iqbal alias Ashfaq Ansari, the Supreme Court said that a strict provision of any law cannot prevent a constitutional court from granting bail to the accused. A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Ujjwal Bhuiyan has said that Article 21 of the Constitution gives every citizen the fundamental right to personal liberty. It is the responsibility of the constitutional court to protect the fundamental right to liberty from being affected by the strict provision of bail given in any law.
In India, the Supreme Court and the High Court have the status of constitutional courts. The constitutional court is responsible for protecting the fundamental rights of the people and in its order, the Supreme Court has mentioned this power of constitutional courts. The 26-page order states that it is the job of constitutional courts to ensure that no strict law unnecessarily affects the fundamental rights. The court has also said that while granting bail to an accused, such conditions should not be imposed which completely affect his personal freedom.
Who is Sheikh Javed?
The accused who has been granted bail by the Supreme Court was claimed to have been arrested by the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Uttar Pradesh Police in 2015 on the Indo-Nepal border with fake notes worth about 25 lakh rupees. The police registered a case against the accused and Nepalese citizen Sheikh Javed Iqbal alias Ashfaq Ansari under UAPA and he has been in jail for more than 8 years. In 2021, the High Court had quashed it due to lack of proper approval before the trial. However, on the petition of the police, the Supreme Court had stayed that order.
What did Sheikh Javed’s lawyer say?
Advocate MS Khan, who appeared on behalf of Sheikh Javed Iqbal alias Ashfaq Ansari in the Supreme Court, told the court that the appellant has been in custody for a long time. Arguing, advocate MS Khan said that the criminal case does not seem likely to end in the near future, so Sheikh Javed Iqbal should be released on bail.
Opposition to the petition
Opposing the argument of advocate MS Khan, who represented Sheikh Javed Iqbal, UP government’s advocate Garima Prasad said that the charges against the appellant are very serious and since he is a foreign national, there is a high risk of him fleeing. Advocate Garima Prasad said that the appellant should not be granted bail at any cost.
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