The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others accused in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case today.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria will pronounce the verdict on multiple pleas of the accused in the case.
The top court had on 10 December reserved its verdict on separate pleas of the accused after hearing arguments from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for Delhi Police, and senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi, Siddhartha Dave, Salman Khurshid and Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the accused.
What Delhi Police Says?
The Delhi Police have opposed the bail pleas and said the February 2020 riots were not spontaneous, but an “orchestrated, pre-planned and well-designed” attack on India’s sovereignty.
Police have said that Sharjeel Imam’s speeches can be attributed to other accused and can be used as evidence against them in the case.
SV Raju had contended that all the participants are liable for each other’s acts in a conspiracy.
“Acts of one conspirator can be attributed to others. Sharjeel Imam’s speeches can be attributed to Omar KhalidSharjeel Imam’s case will be considered as evidence against the others,” he had told the bench, which conducted hearings on the bail pleas on multiple days,
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.
Booked under UAPA
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Imam, had contended that he was arrested on January 28, 2020, which was before the communal violence rocked Northeast Delhi, for his speeches that alone cannot constitute the offense of “criminal conspiracy” in the riots case.
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).
Support from US Lawmakers
Last week, a group of US lawmakersincluding Jim McGovern and Jamie Raskinhas, sent a letter to India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Kwatra, calling for a fair and timely trial for activist Umar Khalid in “according with international law”.
The eight lawmakers flagged concerns over the “prolonged pre-trial detention of individuals charged in connection with the February 2020 violence in Delhi,
Also newly-elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also penned a note for Khalid, referring to his reflections on “bitterness” and the need to ensure it does not “consume one’s self”.
The note was shared on X by Khalid’s partner, Banojyotsna Lahiri.
“Dear Umar, I think of your words on bitterness often, and the importance of not letting it consume one’s self. It was a pleasure to meet your parents. We are all thinking of you,” read the handwritten note signed by Mamdani.
Khalid’s parents had met Mamdani and US lawmakers recently.
Sharjeel Imam expressed anguish for being labeled a ‘dangerous intellectual terrorist’ without a full-fledged trial.
Umar Khalid has been in custody since September 13, 2020, while Imam has been imprisoned since January 28, 2020, weeks before the Delhi riots broke out.
The accused moved the apex court, challenging the Delhi High Court’s September 2 order denying them bail in the “larger conspiracy” case of the February 2020 riots.
Communal riots broke out in parts of Northeast Delhi in February 2020, amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The riots, which lasted several days, led to several deaths, along with large-scale damage to homes, shops, and places of worship.
