Delhi’s Karkardooma Court granted bail to Hazi Waseem, an alleged aide of gangster Kapil Sagwan, in a firing case. The court noted no police injuries and lack of evidence like cartridge cases, granting bail on a Rs. 25,000 bond.
Delhi’s Karkardooma Court on Friday granted bail to Waseem alias Hazi Waseem, an alleged close aide of Kapil Sagwan alias Nandu, who was wanted in a firing case in the Chawla area.
It is alleged that Hazi Waseem provided illegal weapons to assailants of the Nandu Gang and was in regular contact with Nandu, who is absconding and stated to be in the UK. He was arrested by the Crime Branch from the Mayur Vihar area following an encounter on August 24. He is a resident of Leesadi Gate in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He was also an accused in a North East Delhi riots case linked with Shahrukh Pathan.
Court’s Observations on Bail Plea
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Babita Punia granted bail to Waseem alias Hazi Waseem after considering the submissions and the reply filed by Delhi Police. While granting bail, the court observed that no police official was stated to have sustained any injury in the alleged firing. The reply did not disclose the recovery of any empty cartridge case from the spot.
The court also noted that the reply itself attributed to the applicant an intention of “causing harm” and obstructing the police party. Whether the ingredients of Section 109(1) (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) were made out was a matter to be tested at trial. “In view of the above, the applicant Waseem alias Hazi Waseem is admitted to bail on his furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs. 25,000 with two sureties of the like amount,” ASJ Punia ordered on October 16. The bail was granted subject to conditions, including that the applicant shall not leave the NCT of Delhi without prior permission of the court. He shall appear before the court on each date of hearing and shall not contact, threaten or influence any witness, or tamper with evidence in any manner.
Defense Cites Lack of Evidence
Advocate Bhanu Malhotra, appearing for Hazi Waseem, argued that despite the alleged encounter taking place on a busy arterial road, no independent public witness was joined. No CCTV footage had been collected, and no videography of the search and seizure was conducted. It was further argued that no police official sustained any injury and that the police claimed to have fired only in the air. Though the weapon was stated to be semi-automatic, no empty cartridge case was stated to have been recovered from the spot. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report was still awaited.
Prosecution Opposes Bail
The bail plea was opposed by the additional public prosecutor (APP), who submitted that the allegations were serious in nature, as the case concerned the use of an illegal firearm against a police team during apprehension. The accused was involved in other criminal cases, the source of the weapon was yet to be ascertained, and the co-accused persons were yet to be interrogated. The investigation in the case was continuing, the APP argued.
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