India’s Supreme Court today adjourned until Monday, September 22 the hearing of bail pleas filed by student activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider and Gulfisha Fatima, held in a Delhi riots “larger conspiracy” case connected to the February 2020 Delhi riots.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Manmohan said, more time is needed after receiving case documents late at night, preventing full review in time for the previously scheduled hearing.
The petitions challenge a Delhi High Court order, issued on September 2, which rejected bail applications of nine people including Khalid and Imam. The High Court held that while citizens have rights to protest and free speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, “conspiratorial violence” disguised as protest cannot be permitted.
Among those denied bail are Fatima, Haider, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Shadab Ahmed. Tasleem Ahmed also had bail denied by a separate High Court bench on the same date.
The accused are booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code in the FIR 59/2020 lodged by the Delhi Police Special Cell. The accused have been in custody for over a five years without hearing.
The 2020 unrest in North-East Delhi, triggered during protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and concerns relating to the National Register of Citizens (NRC), left at least 53 dead and hundreds injured.
