Updated: Sat, 18 Oct 2025 02:02 (IST) The Allahabad High Court has rejected the bail plea of Ashfaq Hussain, the prime accused in the Kamlesh Tiwari murder case. The court said that on the basis of identification of witnesses and CCTV footage, his presence at the place is proved. The court also said that in a free country anyone has the right to go anywhere, but the accused did not give any explanation for his visit to Lucknow. The lower court was told to dispose of the case expeditiously. Legal Correspondent, Prayagraj. The Allahabad High Court has refused to grant bail to Ashfaq Hussain, one of the two prime accused in the murder case of Hindu Samaj Party leader Kamlesh Tiwari in Lucknow. The single bench of Justice Krishna Pahal passed this order. Remove Ads Read News Only The court said the material on record, including eyewitness identification, CCTV footage and the recovery of a .32 pistol from the accused, was not suitable for release pending trial. The presence of the applicant at the location is established. Despite being a resident of Gujarat, he did not give any concrete reason for his presence in Lucknow. An FIR regarding this matter was registered under various sections on October 18, 2019 in the Naka Hindola police station. Ashfaq’s counsel said that the name of the appellant was not in the FIR and came to light during the investigation, that too on the basis of vague and inadmissible evidence. It was also argued that a total of five accused have already got bail from the High Court, and therefore they should also be given relief on the basis of equality. The appellant has been in prison since October 2019. The trial is proceeding very slowly. The indictment mentions the questioning of 73 witnesses. The prosecutor said 33 witnesses would be investigated and so far only 30 have been investigated. The state government counsel relied on witness statements and forensic material to link the petitioner to the crime. The court said, being an independent country, any citizen of India can go to any place of his choice, but in the present case, the accused has not given any explanation about the purpose of his journey from Gujarat to Lucknow. After hearing the arguments of the parties and considering the fact that the appellant has been identified by two witnesses Saurashtra Jeet Singh and Rishi Tiwari and his presence has also been established from the CCTV footage, the case is not suitable for grant of bail. Although the court directed the trial court to dispose of the case expeditiously, the court also made it clear that its observations are related to the bail application and will have no bearing on the merits of the case during the trial. Kamlesh Tiwari was stabbed and shot dead in Lucknow in October 2019. According to the police, the order was allegedly issued in 2016 by the two prime suspects Mohammad Mufti Naeem Kazmi and Imam Maulana Anwarul Haq. In this, there was a promise to give an amount of Rs 51 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore respectively to the person who killed Tiwari. Accepting the petition of the accused and co-accused, the Supreme Court transferred the sessions case (State vs. Ashfaq Hussain and others) pending in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Lucknow-1 to Prayagraj.
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