The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict today on the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others accused in the alleged larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 Delhi riots.
A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria will deliver the verdict on multiple bail pleas filed by the accused in the case.
On December 10, the apex court reserved its verdict after hearing arguments from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Delhi Police, and senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi, Siddhartha Dave, Salman Khurshid and Sidharth Luthra, who appeared for the accused.
Opposing the bail pleas, the Delhi Police told the court that the 2020 riots were not spontaneous but an “orchestrated, pre-planned and well-designed” attack on India’s sovereignty. The police also argued that Sharjeel Imam’s speeches could be attributed to other accused and used as evidence against them in the case.
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju contended that all participants in a conspiracy are liable for each other’s acts. “Acts of one conspirator can be attributed to others. Sharjeel Imam’s speeches can be attributed to Umar Khalid. Sharjeel Imam’s case will be considered as evidence against the others,” he told the bench during the hearings, which were held over multiple days.
He further argued that Khalid had deliberately planned to leave Delhi ahead of the riots in an attempt to deflect responsibility.
Seeking bail, Imam told the court that he had been “labelled” a “dangerous intellectual terrorist” without a full-fledged trial or a single conviction. His counsel, senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, argued that Imam was arrested on January 28, 2020, before communal violence erupted in Northeast Delhi, and that his speeches alone could not constitute the offence of “criminal conspiracy” in the riots case.
Khalid, Imam, Natasha Narwal, Meeran Haider and Shifa Ur Rehman have been booked under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), and the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the riots, which left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
Section 16 of the UAPA states, “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 occurred amid widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The accused have moved the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court’s September 2 order denying them bail in the “larger conspiracy” case related to the 2020 riots.
