2020 Delhi riot: The Supreme Court sent a notice to the Delhi Police on the bail plea of Sharjil Imam and Omar Khalid in the UAPA case. HC’s decision to dismiss bail has been challenged. The next hearing is on 27 October.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Delhi Police on the petitions of Sharjil Imam, Umar Khalid, Gulfisha Fatima, Miran Haider and Shifa ur Rehman. These petitions have challenged the Delhi High Court order refusing to grant bail in the UAPA case related to the alleged major conspiracy behind the 2020 north-eastern Delhi riots. The bench of Justice Arvind Kumar and Justice NV Anjaria decided to hear the case on 27 October. Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said- He is a student and has been in jail for more than five years. The bench ordered, “Yes, we will listen to you and settle it… issue notice to everyone.”
The Delhi High Court on 2 September refused to bail Imam, Khalid and seven others- Mohammad Salim Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Miran Haider, Shadab Ahmed, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima. On September 2, the bail plea of another accused Taslim Ahmed was rejected by a separate bench of the High Court.
What did Delhi Police tell the court about the Delhi riots…
The Delhi Police had opposed his bail petitions, saying that it is not a case of sudden riots, but it is a case where the riots were already planned with a frightening purpose and well-thought out conspiracy “. The High Court had said that at first sight the role of Imam and Khalid in the entire conspiracy was “serious”, who gave inflammatory speeches on a communal grounds for “provoking members of the Muslim community to mobilize largely”. He sought bail from the Supreme Court in a big conspiracy case under strict provisions of the illegal activities (prevention) Act (UAPA) in the February 2020 Delhi riot case.
53 deaths in protest against CAA-NRC
In 2020, the Imam was arrested by the Delhi Police under the UAPA and described him as the main conspirator behind the Delhi riot case. The violence erupted during the protest against the then proposed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Civil Register (NRC) and killed 53 people and injured more than 700 people.