The Supreme Court has deferred the hearing on the bail petitions of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and five other student leaders accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the 2020 Delhi Riots conspiracy case. The matter will now be taken up on December 2.
During a hearing on Friday, November 21, the Delhi Police strongly opposed the bail pleas. According to a report in The Hindu, the police argued that Khalid and the others were invoking constitutional rights only to secure bail, while the material against them, they claimed, showed a serious threat to national security.
Represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, the police told the bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice NV Anjaria that the riots were not spontaneous. They described the violence as a coordinated and planned conspiracy. ASG Raju referred to statements from a protected witness and alleged that the conspirators organised chakka jams, attempted to “choke Assam out of India,” and mobilised groups armed with sticks to carry out stone-pelting.
At one point, the prosecution argued that people like Khalid and Imam were “intellectual terrorists” who influenced discussions and planning behind the protests.
The prosecution also claimed that the anti-CAA protests were not peaceful expressions of dissent but were aimed at “regime change… like in Nepal and Bangladesh.”
Lawyers for the accused questioned the strength of the evidence, saying there is no direct link between many of the students and the violent incidents. They also pointed out that Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have already spent more than five years in jail without trial, and argued that continued detention is unjustified.
