6 Markaz attendee foreigners granted bail, not allowed to leave India

Lucknow, June 10: The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to six foreign nationals who had arrived here after attending a religious congregation at the Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi and were booked under several sections of the law including the Epidemic Diseases Act and the Passport Act.

The bail was granted by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on June 2.

The court, however, set strict conditions including that they would not leave the country without permission of a court and be present before the trial court to face further proceedings.

Passing the order, Justice Jaspreet Singh also directed the accused to deposit Rs 11,000 each in the CM COVID-19 Relief Fund.

"The accused be released from jail on their furnishing personal bond of Rs 50,000 each and a solvent surety each to the satisfaction of the concerned court below," said the court.

The judge said, "The efforts of the administration and the police establishment while dealing with containment of COVID-19 pandemic and enforcement of law and order has been praiseworthy.

"However, that in itself does not give a blanket clearance to all their acts rather each case, as it comes before the Court, has to be seen and judged on its own peculiar facts and circumstances and the material placed before it."

The accused, who are citizens of Kyrgyzstan, include Sagynbek Toktobolotov, Sultanbek Tursunbaiuulu, Ruslan Toksobave, Zamirbek Maraliev, Aidyn Taldu Kurgan alias Aidyn Kairbex and Dauren Taldu Kuragn alias Dauren Zhe Xenbekov.

They were arrested on April 26 from the old city area in connection with the offences registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, Epidemic Disease Act, Passport Act, Passports (Entry into India) Act, Foreigners Act, the Disaster Management Act.

Arguing on behalf of the applicants, advocate Pransu Agrawal submitted that the applicants had come to India on valid visa which were still operative.

They had informed the authorities concerned in Delhi about their movement in Lucknow as well, he said, adding they completed their 14-day quarantine and were tested negative for the coronavirus thrice.

The offences in which they were challenged are punishable below seven years of imprisonment.

Opposing the bail plea, the state lawyer said that the accused had tourist visas which were misused as they attended the religious congregation at Nizamuddin and came to Lucknow where they were residing in the Markaz Mosque without getting their medical examination done.

They were arrested from the mosque, he said.

Considering different facts and circumstances, the court allowed their bail pleas with conditions.