Delhi riots conspiracy case: Six accused complete arguments on bail

Booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967, in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, six accused persons, including activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, on Tuesday concluded their arguments on bail before the Supreme Court.

Accused Khalid, Imam, Umar Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman and Md Saleem Khan are facing charges of criminal conspiracy, sedition, promoting enmity between various groups, making statements conducing to public mischief under the IPC and Section 13 of the UAPA, 1967, for allegedly questioning the sovereignty, unity, or territorial integrity of India and causing disaffection against it.

Under custody for five years, the accused have challenged the Delhi High Court’s September 2 order denying them bail in the case.

A Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice NV Anjaria – which has been hearing the matter since September – will on Wednesday hear Additional Solicitor General SV Raju on behalf of the Delhi Police.

On behalf of Imam, senior advocate Siddhartha Dave urged the Supreme Court to grant him bail in a February 2020 Delhi riots case, saying he had neither participated nor had any role in the violence and was incarcerated for almost six years as an undertrial.

The only thing the prosecution has placed before the top court against the activist is the alleged “inflammatory speeches” given by him, Dave said. He, however, said some of the words used in the speeches were “unpalatable”.

“Is a speech by itself conspiratorial in nature? Does it? And it is not a speech which is only one way. I have shown to your lordships, he gives a call for non-violence. He says you take the beating, don’t attack. That is what he is saying,” Dave said.

Besides Dave, senior advocates Salman Khurshid, Sidharth Luthra and others also advanced their submissions on behalf of some other accused in the case.

Dave said Sharjeel was arrested on January 28, 2020, and the riots happened in Delhi on February 22-24, 2020.

“Today, he is standing before your lordships asking for bail. After almost six years in custody, your lordships may kindly consider that he be released on bail particularly when he is not physically present and not an accused in any of those cases of where the actual riots took place,” he submitted.

Dave said the conspiracy involved a meeting of minds and Imam was already in custody almost a month before the riots took place.

He contended that around 750 FIRs were lodged in connection with the riots and Imam was not named in them.

Besides the UAPA, the accused were also booked under certain provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the “larger conspiracy” behind the February 2020 Delhi riots during the visit of the then US President Donald Trump that claimed 53 lives and left more than 700 injured. The violence had erupted during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Terming the 2020 Delhi riots as an “orchestrated, pre-planned, and well-designed” attack on the sovereignty of India by a “regime change operation” executed under the guise of “peaceful protest”, Delhi Police have vehemently opposed the bail pleas of the accused persons.