Supreme Court Denies Bail To Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam In 2020 Delhi Riots Case
The additional solicitor general had argued that Umar Khalid deliberately planned to leave Delhi before the riots as he wanted to deflect responsibility.
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected bail plea of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam Bail in the 2020 Delhi riots case saying there was a prima facie case against them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The bench, however accepted the bail plea of other accused Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed, subject to 12 stringent conditions to ensure their cooperation with the ongoing legal process.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria pronounced the verdict on multiple pleas of the accused in the case.
On December 10, the top court reserved its verdict on separate pleas of the accused after hearing arguments from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for Delhi Police, and senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi, Siddhartha Dave, Salman Khurshid and Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the accused.
Strongly opposing the bail pleas, the Delhi Police had said the February 2020 riots were not spontaneous, but an "orchestrated, pre-planned and well-designed" attack on India's sovereignty.
Police had said that Sharjeel Imam's speeches can be attributed to other accused and can be used as evidence against them in the case.
S V Raju had contended that all the participants are liable for each other's acts in a conspiracy. The additional solicitor general had argued that Khalid deliberately planned to leave Delhi before the riots as he wanted to deflect responsibility.
Seeking bail, Imam had expressed anguish before the apex court for being "labelled" a "dangerous intellectual terrorist", without a full-fledged trial or a single conviction.
Khalid, Imam, Fatima, Meeran Haider and Shifa Ur Rehman have been booked under the stringent anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), and provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the riots, which left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
According to Section 16 of the UAPA, "Whoever commits a terrorist act shall, if such act has resulted in the death of any person, be punishable with death or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine."
The violence erupted during widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
(with inputs from PTI)
