OdishaPlus Bureau
46 foreign nationals in the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz case will face trial from a Delhi court from August 10. The decision comes hours after the court wrapped up plea bargaining process for all foreign nationals impleaded in the case on Friday.
Lawyers Ashima Mandla, Fahim Khan, and Ahmed Khan, who represent the foreign nationals, said that 46 accused have claimed trial in the case. Metropolitan Magistrate Archana Beniwal allowed 40 Indonesians, 12 Kyrgyzstan women, and one South African national to walk free after levying a penalty of Rs 5,000 each under the plea-bargaining process.
More than 900 foreign nationals in the case have been named by the Delhi Police Crime Branch. An FIR was registered against Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi and others on March 31 in connection to the congregation of hundreds of Jamaat followers, including foreigners in Tablighi headquarters in Nizamuddin area of Delhi amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The accused have been charged under the Indian Penal Code, the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act, and for violating prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. On July 6, the court had noted that there was prima facie sufficient material on record to proceed against the accused under Section 14 (b) Foreigners Act, 1946 apart from above-mentioned statutes.
