Supreme Court Sets Aside Default Bail for Haldwani Riot Accused, Cites Probe Complexity

The Supreme Court has reversed a Uttarakhand High Court order granting default bail to Javed Siddiqui and Arshad Ayub, prime accused in the 2024 Haldwani riots.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta ruled that the High Court erred in characterizing the UAPA investigation as "sluggish."

The apex court clarified that the investigating agency had recorded 65 witness statements within 90 days, not twelve as previously recorded, demonstrating "utmost expediency" given the scale of the violence.

Since the chargesheet was filed within the legally extended period, the Court held the accused had lost their right to default bail.

[State of Uttarakhand v. Javed Siddiqui & Anr.]