Activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have approached the Supreme Court seeking bail in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The petitions challenge the Delhi High Court’s September 30 order denying them bail. The trial in the case has not yet begun, and both activists have been in jail since 2020.
According to The Hindu, Imam’s petition argues that the prosecution has failed to examine even one of the 47 protected witnesses, despite his spending six years and nine months as an undertrial. The charge sheet was filed on September 25, 2020, and names 18 accused. The prosecution has cited more than 900 witnesses, including 47 protected witnesses.
Supreme Court had set conditions for fresh bail pleas
On January 5, the Supreme Court denied bail to Khalid and Imam but granted relief to five co-accused: Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.
The court had said Khalid and Imam could file fresh bail applications after the examination of protected witnesses was completed or after one year, whichever came earlier. It observed that the two activists stood on a “qualitatively different footing” from the other accused.
The Delhi High Court refused to modify these conditions in its September 30 order, saying it was bound by judicial discipline and could not alter the Supreme Court’s directions.
The trial court had also rejected the bail pleas, saying it had no option but to follow the Supreme Court’s January order.
Case linked to February 2020 Delhi violence
Khalid and Imam were arrested in September and August 2020, respectively, in connection with the alleged larger conspiracy behind the communal violence in northeast Delhi in February that year.
The violence erupted during protests for and against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. Most of those killed were Muslims.
Delhi Police has alleged that the violence was part of a larger conspiracy to discredit the Narendra Modi government and was planned by people involved in organising protests against the amended citizenship law. The accused have been charged under the UAPA and other laws.
The Supreme Court had also observed in May that the principle that “bail is the rule and jail is an exception” applies even in cases under the anti-terror law. The petitions by Khalid and Imam will now be considered by the top court.
