New Delhi: The Delhi High Court is likely to pronounce on Tuesday its verdict on bail pleas of activists Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid and others facing prosecution in a UAPA case linked to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur, which reserved its order on July 9 after hearing the arguments on behalf of the prosecution and various accused, is scheduled to pass the order at 2:30 pm.
The court had reserved its order on the bail pleas of Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima.
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The prosecution vehemently opposed the bail plea saying it was not a case of spontaneous riots but a case where riots were planned well in advance with a sinister motive and well-thought-out conspiracy.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the prosecution, had contended that it was a conspiracy to defame India on a global level and mere long incarceration is no ground for bail.
“If you do anything against your nation, you better be in jail till you are acquitted,” he had argued.
Sharjeel Imam’s counsel had earlier argued that he was “completely disconnected” with the place, time and co-accused persons, including Umar Khalid. His speeches and WhatsApp chats never called for any unrest, he had argued.
Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and several others have been booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The violence had erupted during the protests against the CAA and NRC.
Sharjeel Imam was arrested in the case on August 25, 2020. While challenging the trial court orders refusing bail, Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid and others cited their long incarceration and parity with other co-accused who were granted bail.
The bail pleas by Sharjeel Imam and other co-accused – Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Fatima and others, are pending in the high court since 2022 and were heard by different benches from time to time.
Police have opposed the bail applications of all accused, saying the communal violence of February 2020 was a case of “clinical and pathological conspiracy”.
Speeches by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and other accused created a sense of fear with their common pattern of reference to CAA-NRC, Babri mosque, triple talaq and Kashmir, police alleged.
The Delhi Police has contended that in a case involving such “grave” offences, the principle of ‘bail is the rule and jail is the exception’ could not be invoked.
It has also stated that there was no material to suggest any attempt by the prosecution to delay the trial court proceedings and right to speedy trial was not a “free pass”.
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